The horror of being trapped by the LTTE is over. However, horror of another kind has only begun. The government has made it clear, it's going all out in its fight against the tigers but bigger than the military crisis, is the humanitarian tragedy that has unfolded.

There's little food or medicine. Above them is the open sky and if the refugees do find a place to rest, they are haunted by gruesome memories.

K Nadeshwari, a 67-year-old refugee, says, "There were no coconuts, milk or anything. We lived in great difficulty. We had only porridge to eat. There was constant shelling. We lived in a bunker for a month. Of that, we had to stay in the bunker for two days without coming out. We feel safe now. That is all we want. There were bodies lying around when we escaped. We were very afraid."

"I think there must be about 100,000 or maybe 50 to 60 thousand people still in there," puts forth 30-year-old K Rajani - another refugee.

This is the line which the Sri Lankan Army breached on Monday and allowed over 100 thousand civilians to stream into government controlled area.

But even those who have managed to escape, don't have immediate access to relief. Most are screened by the authorities for any LTTE links. And only then are they sent to the poorly equipped hospitals and aid centres.

The 40,000 food packets India has sent will only reach them on Tuesday. And other offers of help, like India doubling the capacity of its field hospital, the French offer of a 100 bed mobile medical facility and the UN's shipment of 10,000 tents are all yet to materialise.
 
While the Sri Lankan government has said their priority is rescuing civilians, it is clear that until the LTTE is completely flushed out aid to refugees will be restricted.