19 January, 2009 - Published 13:58 GMT

Tell progress to world - President

The Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has urged honorary envoys to inform the world of the "progress" made to restore democracy in the north east.

Addressing the Honorary Consuls at the Presidential Secretariat, he has urged them to "counter the ill informed charges being made about the plight of the innocent Tamil people there".

“People in your respective countries must know that these innocent Tamil people are held hostage for use as a human shield to safeguard terrorist leaders from the humanitarian forces of liberation and freedom, the heroic Sri Lankan troops,” he was quoted in a press release issued by the Presidential Secretariat.

Fuel storage 'captured'

The biggest challenge currently facing Sri Lanka, he said, is achieving permanent peace by eradicating terrorism.

“As the democratically elected President of my country, I had no option but to take resolute action to defend the people of my country by taking measures to eradicate terrorism from our soil,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan military says its troops have captured a major fuel storage facility belonging to the rebels in the north of the country.

A military spokesman said more than three-hundred barrels of diesel were found buried underneath a coconut plantation near the town of Dharmapuram.

There has been no reaction from Tamil Tigers.

Meanwhile, officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross said they were negotiating with both the warring sides for safe passage to transport more than thirty seriously injured civilians from rebel-held areas into government-controlled territory.

The roads are blocked due to intense fighting. The Sri Lankan army has made rapid advances into rebel-held territories in the last few months and captured key rebel strongholds like the town of Kilinochchi.