The clandestine Voice of Tigers Radio station said seven Sri Lankan soldiers were killed in the artillery attack on Palali airport, built by Britain when they ruled Sri Lanka, then called Ceylon.

``Our fighters are closing in and we will take the decisive action to take Jaffna soon,'' the station said in the broadcast, monitored in the northern town of Vavuniya.

If the air base falls, the 40,000 government troops and support staff will be trapped with nowhere to go in the northern Jaffna Peninsula, which the Tamils want as part of a homeland.

Earlier Thursday, the Voice of Tigers radio said at least 102 soldiers were killed in the past 24 hours. The government has said only 24 were wounded.

Details of damage or casualties were not immediately known, and journalists were barred from the battle areas. But sources close to the rebels said one shell fell on a military hospital.

Military officials confirmed the attack on the air base, but declined to give details.

Earlier, the rebels said they had captured the strategic Kaithady air base, two miles east of Jaffna, which the rebels controlled from 1990-1995, when they lost it after a 50-day war.

``Kaithady garrison town, with its heavily fortified military bases, fell to the fighting formations of the Liberation Tigers after 12 hours of ferocious combat,'' the rebels said on their Web site.

There was no independent confirmation of the report.

The rebels also claimed they had won control of two roads leading into Jaffna, but the government denied it had lost control of the roads.

However, it said security forces had withdrawn their defenses from yet another area near Jaffna, at Ariyalai about three miles southeast of the city.

The rapid rebel advance to encircle Jaffna prompted the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to express concern for the safety of the city's 500,000 residents.

``The military situation has put civilians at great risk and has already caused casualties among the people of Jaffna,'' High Commissioner Sadako Ogata said in a statement from Geneva.

``I am appealing to all parties to ensure that civilians are protected from the escalating hostilities. They must be allowed to move to areas considered safe,'' she said.

The Indian Navy has rescued scores of Sri Lankans who fled the fighting in boats across the narrow Palk Strait that separates Sri Lanka from southern India.

The UNHCR said in a statement that about 400 Sri Lankan refugees had arrived in India since the fighting intensified in Jaffna last month. India already has some 100,000 refugees from Sri Lanka.

The minority Tamils claim they face discrimination from the Sinhalese majority, which controls the government and the military. The rebels are trying to establish a homeland in the north and east for the country's 3.2 million minority Tamils. The 17-year war has killed more than 62,000 people. Published: Fri May 19 12:16:52 EDT 2000

Bishop Saundaranayagam has reiterated that the government should begin a dialogue to find a political end to the escalating crisis and thus save thousands of lives presently endangered by the fire of both, Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels. Published: Fri May 19 05:47:39 EDT 2000

The ship was prevented from leaving as it was scheduled to berth at Jaffna's northern Kankasenthurai Harbour (KKS) located within the Palaly base complex.

The LTTE have claimed since Wednesday to have fired heavy artillery into the military base at Palaly and destroyed its main communication tower and hit the air strip. 8 soldiers are reported to have been killed as a result. Military spokesman, Brigadier Palitha Fernando however told Lacnet today that rebel fire fell within the "general area of Palaly but did not hit the mlitary base."

The last passenger ship to Jaffna sailed on April 1 this year. Several thousand civilians are reported to be waiting passage from Sri Lanka's Eastern port Trincomalee to Jaffna's northern harbour at Kankasanthurai. Published: Fri May 19 05:47:39 EDT 2000

Brigadier Fernando reiterated that the LTTE had fired some mortars into the general area of Palaly yesterday, but insisted, "none fell within the military complex."

The Voice of Tigers in a radio broadcast last evening however said, the LTTE had fired heavy artillery which hit the main communications tower at the Palaly military base killing two policeman on duty while artillery fire also hit the forces northern air strip.

Independent sources asserted that Sri Lanka Airforce flights into Palaly were suspended for a brief period of time as a result. Published: Fri May 19 02:09:36 EDT 2000

Brigadier Palitha Fernando, Military Spokesman refuted this claim saying there was no big military base at Kaithaday, "only some troop deployments." The Brigadier said that as a result of the fighting in this area 8 Officers and 36 soldiers were wounded. "None were killed" he added.

The LTTE meanwhile stated, "Strategically important Kaithady garrison town with its heavily fortified military bases fell to the fighting formations of the Liberation Tigers after 12 hours of ferocious combat. Situated about 5 kilometres at the entrance of the Jaffna city, Kaithady formed the buffer zone with crucial supply routes to the government troops based in Jaffna city and Palaly airport. The A9 highway linking Navatkuli bridge and the main Kopay Road that cuts through Kaithady, have been brought under the control of the LTTE."

Brigadier Fernando said there is no truth to this claim of the rebels that the Navatkuli bridge is now under Tiger control.

Meanwhile fighting is reported to continue in the outskirts of Jaffna's coastal areas. The LTTE has also denied accusations by the government which say the rebels have been pounding artillery and mortar shells on heavily populated areas. Published: Fri May 19 02:09:36 EDT 2000

Security has been tightened after the blast Security has been tightened across Sri Lanka following Wednesday's bomb attack in the town of Batticaloa, which killed 23 people and injured 75. A curfew has been declared in Batticaloa and all reports of the bombing have been censored. The government said that it had censored the news in order to prevent a backlash from the majority Sinhala community. More.. Published: Thu May 18 17:26:26 EDT 2000

Waruna Karunatilake in Colombo, 17.18 Sri Lanka Time 18.05.2000. Tamil rebels have fired seven rounds of artillery at the Palali air force base killing 08 soldiers and wounding 28 others senior military officials in palali said. The officers said it was the second attack on palali in 24 hours. Last night the rebels fired three artillery shells at Wasavilan adjacent to the Palali base. Published: Thu May 18 08:46:16 EDT 2000