``The government thinks security personnel may have more cover if they are transported with civilians in the same ship or aircraft. It is a highly irresponsible practice and unacceptable to us,'' said Neelan Thiruchelvam of the moderate Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), Sri Lanka's oldest Tamil party.

His allegation came a day after a Sea Tiger attack near Mullaithivu sank a navy Dvora-class gunboat that was providing escort to the government transport ship Lanka Muditha. Sources said the ship was carrying troops and civilians from Kankesanthurai in Jaffna to Trincomalee.

The sinking of the Dvora was a clear warning to the government that the LTTE considers the Lanka Muditha a legitimate military target because it ferries security personnel. The state-run Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation quoted the military spokesman on Saturdaysaying that the attack was aimed at the Lanka Muditha and alleged that the LTTE was now hitting out at civilians. He made no mention of the soldiers on board the ship, giving credence to fears that the military is deliberately using civilians to protect troops in transit.

An angered international aid worker said the government's policy of lumping soldiers and civilians in one category for transport was an ``invitation'' to the Tigers to attack. ``When civilians die in such attacks, the government calculates it stands to gain because it can then score a couple of propaganda points over the LTTE,'' he said.

Thiruchelvam said it was ``highly inappropriate'' in the light of recent tragedies for the government to compromise the safety of civilians even if it was facing practical constraints in transportation. A severe shortage of transport aircraft and the suspension of civilian flights for nearly a month has made the government heavily dependent on the perilous sea route on Sri Lanka's eastern coast to keepits transport lines to Jaffna open. While the road between the peninsula and the rest of the country is under LTTE control, civilian aircraft stopped operating after the disappearance of a plane with 54 civilians on board including crew. Though that flight had no soldiers on board, it was an open secret that the army had on several previous occasions commandeered seats on the plane. Days prior to its disappearance, the LTTE had reportedly warned the army not to use civilian planes to transport soldiers but the warning went unheeded and the flight is widely believed to have fallen victim to a LTTE missile.

Since then, the Lanka Muditha, mainly a cargo ship, has been pressed into service to transport both civilians and security personnel.

On Friday, it set sail from Kankesanthurai with 700 troops and 250 civilians but on getting wind of the battle ahead, turned back towards Jaffna.Other politicians also condemned the government's policy of transporting soldiers along with civilians. ``It has to be eithersoldiers or civilians on that ship, not both,'' said Suresh Premachandran, secretary-general of the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF).

Meanwhile, an encounter between the Sri Lankan troops and a group of extremists engaged in mortar firing left five LTTE rebels and one soldier dead in the country's embattled northeast yesterday, the military said today. Twenty-eight militants were wounded in the combat.

A military communique said troops on patrol confronted the militants at Paranthan. Five militants were killed in another encounter in Trincomalee as troops recovered some weapons and a body along with a cyanide capsule from the site, the release added.

Army discovers LTTE airstrip

COLOMBO: The discovery of two helicopters said to be belonging to the LTTE on a well-developed airfield near north-eastern town of Mullaithivu has given credence to rumours that the rebel Tigers were acquiring air-fire capability.

The Sunday Times, in its defence report said, ``Footagetaken by the airforce's Israeli-made unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) clearly showed that the LTTE has now developed an airstrip adjoining the former military base at Mullaithivu.'' Quoting Lankan airforce sources, the paper said that the video footage indicated the presence of at least two helicopters to be similar to be the `R44-Astro' at the Mullaithivu airstrip.

The defence headquarters has already put out warning to all establishments in the north about possible air strikes by the rebels. The choppers are also suspected to be mounted with medium calibre machine guns, the report added.