They said at least one civilian was killed and many more injured in army air strikes. There were reports of shelling around the Tiger bases.

The exodus followed a government offensive which recaptured a key northern town, Oddusudan. The Tigers said civilians were now sheltering in schools and public buildings in Tiger-controlled areas to the east.

The army said about 500 people had come under its control and were being given food rations.

The military announced its success at the same time as saying it had ended Operation Victory Assured - launched in May 1996 to try to open the road north through the Tiger area to the government-held Jaffna peninsula.

In spite of continued assurances from the defence ministry that the army was on the verge of taking the whole road, the Tigers still control about 25km.

Thousands of combatants have been killed and injured during the operation, including more than 1,000 soldiers who died when the Tigers took the town of Kilinochchi at the end of September.

The army has been suffering from a manpower shortage and recently launched a recruitment drive for 20,000 extra troops.