Jan 30, Colombo: Sri Lanka today rejected the calls for a ceasefire with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and vowed to continue the military offensive until the North is completely liberated.

Sri Lanka's Human Rights and Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe in a press briefing said the government is determined not to have a ceasefire.

"There will be no ceasefire. We will continue with our military operations and we will continue to liberate areas which had not been liberated so far. We are determined to eradicate terrorism in Sri Lanka,'' he told the reporters.

The Minister was responding to a call by Louis Michel, the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid for a 'window of cessation of hostilities' to allow civilians to leave the combat zone.

In a statement yesterday the Commissioner said everything must be done to prevent the suffering of the population and stop further bloodshed.

"I therefore urge that a window of cessation of hostilities be agreed by the parties to allow civilians to leave the combat zone," Michael said.

Sri Lankan government has maintained its stance that there will be no ceasefire unless the Tigers lay down their arms.

The government however said today it will give a break in fighting to allow the civilians to move out of rebel held areas.

Aid agencies estimate that about 250,000 civilians are caught in the bitter battles in the northern region. The Tigers are accused of restricting the movement of the people and holding them as human shields.

Sri Lanka President yesterday urged the Tigers to release the civilians within 48 hours and allow them to move to safety in the government controlled areas. The government has set up a special no-fire zone in the rebel held area.

The Tigers meanwhile said only a permanent ceasefire would resolve the conflict.

"Only a permanent ceasefire mooted by the international community and negotiations followed by it would resolve the conflict as envisaged by the Tamil people and the LTTE," LTTE political leader, B. Nadesan was quoted on Friday in the rebel mouthpiece TamilNet.

However for their part the Tigers seem to have no intention of letting up the fighting. In an interview to BBC recently Nadesan said the Tigers would not lay down arms until the freedom and dignity of their people were guaranteed and vowed to continue their freedom struggle.

In the past the LTTE has used every ceasefire period to arm themselves and increase recruitment to strengthen the outfit.