in the conflict are guilty of `` egregious violations '' of humanitarian law . `` I think the government claims that they 're not using heavy weapons do not pass the laugh test any more , '' she said . `` Witnesses are telling us about the shelling . We also get photos of remnants of the shells that hit the areas . '' U.N. spokesman Gordon Weiss told CNN on Monday that hundreds of civilians died during weekend fighting because the Sri Lankan army had put residents in the crossfire , and Obama and the Security Council urged the government to live up to its commitment to stop using heavy weapons . Neistat said at least 30 hospitals had been attacked in the conflict zone as well . Meanwhile , the Tigers -- who have been branded a terrorist organization by the United States , more than 30 other countries and the European Union -- are refusing to let the civilians who surround them evacuate , Neistat said . `` Witnesses are telling us that they were not allowed to leave , that those who tried to leave were shot at by the Tamil Tigers , '' she said
The U.N. Security Council and U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday called for both sides in Sri Lanka 's civil war to protect civilians and allow humanitarian aid into the conflict zone , where tens of thousands are trapped . President Obama criticized the Tamil Tigers for using civilians as `` human shields . '' In a statement at the White House , Obama urged Sri Lankan government troops to halt the `` indiscriminate '' shelling of civilians trapped with the remnants of the country 's Tamil Tiger rebels and demanded the rebels stop using civilians as `` human shields . '' Security Council members issued a statement demanding `` that all parties respect their obligations under international humanitarian law . '' Though the rebels once controlled much of northeastern Sri Lanka , government troops have forced them from all but a small portion of the island since November . The remaining rebel force is pinned down on a narrow strip on the island 's northern coast , but more than 50,000 civilians are trapped there as well , the United Nations estimates . Anna Neistat , of the New York-based Human Rights Watch , told CNN that both sides