BRIAN NELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Sri Lanka's military is facing off with Tamil rebels who are battling to recapture their former stronghold. Separatists are in their final push right now to retake the island's northern city of Jaffna. And we get more from CNN's Satinder Bindra, and a reminder to our viewers, his reporting is subject to censorship by Sri Lanka's government.</s>SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Sri Lankan air force has stepped up air strikes in a last-ditch effort to push back Tamil Tiger rebels from the outskirts of Jaffna. The army says it's recently destroyed a rebel communication tower and inflicted heavy casualties on the Tigers. Still, the rebels are holding on and say they'll soon launch a final offensive for Jaffna, a city they consider their cultural capital. The Sri Lankan army alleges the rebels are now recruiting more and more 12 to 16-year-old schoolchildren to boost their numbers. The army says the rebels are currently giving 140 schoolchildren military training against the wishes of their parents. So far, there has been no response from the rebels regarding the army's allegations. Sri Lanka, in turn, strongly denies recent allegations that it uses children as soldiers. As the fighting in the north continues, international aid agencies say Jaffna's 500,000 residents are under grave danger. The Sri Lankan government says it's now appealed to the Red Cross to ask the rebels to stop firing mortars into Jaffna. The Red Cross says it wants both sides to respect civilian life and property. Refugees from Jaffna are now fleeing toward coastal areas in large numbers. To deal with the situation described by Sri Lanka's leader of the opposition as, quote, "the country's worst crisis since independence," President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has called an all-party meeting Monday. Satinder Bindra, CNN, Colombo.
Tamil Tigers Look to Make Final Push Against Sri Lankan Government to Retake City of Jaffna