Sri Lanka's government has declared a temporary halt to its offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels in the north-east.The move, which aims to let civilians leave the conflict zone safely, comes in view of New Year celebrations that start on Monday, the government said.There has been no immediate response from the Tamil Tigers.The authorities have been under growing international pressure to allow time for tens of thousands of trapped civilians to leave the war zone safely.The decision came after a special cabinet meeting headed by President Mahinda Rajapakse.Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told that government forces would not engage in any offensive operations during the two-day Sinhala and Tamil New Year period.He said the decision was taken to allow time for civilians to leave the war zone safely.The authorities had been under pressure from the UN, US and other countries to allow a humanitarian pause to allow civilians time to leave the conflict zone.
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