Many children have shrapnel wounds

"So far over thirty six thousand people have crossed over" Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Resettlement & Disaster Relief Services told the BBC.

"UNHCR is urging the government to continue to make necessary preparations to receive and accommodate the large numbers expected in the coming weeks or months," UNHCR spokesman William Spindler told journalists.

According to relief agencies, tens of thousands of civilians are still trapped behind the front line.

300 acres for relief work

"Given the magnitude of the civilian population still trapped inside in the LTTE territory, and expected to flee into government-controlled areas as military operations advance, UNHCR has requested the government of Sri Lanka to provide another 300 acres to bring the total potential reception capacity to 85,000 persons," Spindler said.

	Families have to remain in camps

Earlier, the United Nations said around 30,000 people had recently crossed into government-held territory and the authorities were providing them with urgently needed services.

UN's World Food Programme[WFP] said it had been able to make its first food deliveries to the embattled Wanni area since January 16 by using a Red Cross boat.

Food by boat

Forty tonnes of food, enough to feed 80,000 people for a day, was delivered to a government-designated "safe zone" in the area on Friday, said WFP spokeswoman Emilia Casella told the media.

"Now we have an objective to be able to deliver through these boats up to 300 tonnes of mixed food per week," she added.

Human Rights Watch reported last week
Image that an estimated 2,000 civilians have been killed in the recent fighting.

Now we have an objective to be able to deliver through these boats up to 300 tonnes of mixed food per week   - WFP

Five civilians who were wounded in air strikes and artillery fire Friday died, Dr. Thurairaja Varatharajah said from a hospital in the war zone. Forty-one others are being treated for their wounds, he said.

Desperate and unacceptable

Meanwhile, the group Doctors Without Borders expressed outrage that so little has been done for the civilians trapped in rebel territory, calling their condition "desperate and unacceptable".

The voluntary organization for doctors urged the government and rebels to ensure the safety of civilians and allow them access to humanitarian assistance.

It said 90 percent of the injured people who arrive at its hospital in northern Vavuniya town, just outside the war zone, have gunshot or shrapnel wounds from fleeing rebel territory.