Over 5000 Tamil civilians (IDP's) have escaped from uncleared area and sought refuge at army camps at Dharmapuram, Vishwamadu and Kuppilankulam on Saturday, says Rehabilitation and Resettlement Minister Rizat Badiudin.

A military spokesman told BBC correspondent, Anbarasan Ethirajan that more than two-thousand-two-hundred people had arrived on Wednesday and Thrusday.

Aid agencies have expressed increasing concern over the fate of tens of thousands of civilians inside Tamil Tiger controlled territory.

The Sri Lankan military spokesman said the number of civilians escaping the war zone had significantly increased in recent days.

He said more than one-thousand-six hundred people crossed over to government-controlled territory on Thursday alone - the highest figure for a single day since the beginning of the conflict in the north.

Civilians trapped

The official said the government had set up special camps for the displaced civilians near the northern town of Vavuniya.

Aid agencies say there are nearly a quarter of a million people trapped in the battle zone, but the government says the number is half that.

Trapped between the advancing army and the rebels, who are resisting the offensive, tens of thousands of Tamils living inside rebel-held areas have been made homeless and have been moving from place to place in search of a safe haven.

With the army capturing more and more territory from the rebels, the civilians are now being confined to a smaller area.

The International Red Cross estimates that hundreds of civilians have been killed due to the fighting between government forces and Tamil rebels in recent months.

Aid agencies and the government say that the civilians are being held in the war zone against their will by Tamil Tigers. But the rebels say the civilians want to stay with them because they fear the military.