And as the people living in these areas contemplate a precarious food situation in the coming days, both sides to the conflict accuse each other of creating a humanitarian crisis in the northern mainland.

Recent military operations in north-western Sri Lanka have blocked the route used till June 25 this year to send government food supplies. A military proposal thereafter for a ``civilian safety zone'' (CSZ) five km long and one km wide immediately beyond its forward defence lines in Mankulam on the main highway to Killinochchi was rejected by the LTTE for ``strategic and military'' reasons. ``The LTTE suspects the withdrawal of its forces to several miles back from its present entrenched positions to create a demilitarised zone might encourage the army to embark on a new adventure to move forward along the A9highway,'' the group said in a statement last week from its London headquarters.

Instead, the LTTE proposed a 250 m long and 250 m wide security zone on the same road, rejected this time by the military, as it was within ``small arms range''.

A fresh proposal was made by the army earlier this week for a five km chunk of another road west of Mankulam, with a reiteration of the military's ``commitment to security guarantees 24 hours of the day and seven days of the week in the new CSZ''.

But there has been no response from the LTTE so far. The rebel group has accused the government of ``deliberately delaying food and other essential supplies'' to the people in the Vanni by ``stipulating an unfair and unacceptable demand'' on them.

In return, at a special briefing on the crisis held today, a government spokesman said that in delaying its response to the military's first proposal by nearly three weeks, and by not responding to the second proposal yet, the LTTE had ``created an artificial foodscarcity''.

A military spokesman said the government would be prepared to ``negotiate a compromise'' only if the LTTE got back with its own proposal to resolve the deadlock.

Meanwhile, on a request by the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), the government has agreed to allow people requiring urgent medical attention to cross over to the ``cleared areas'' at any point along the forward defence lines, instead of the earlier practice of permitting them through just one assigned checkpoint.