"We have a team on the ground now helping to pull people out of the rubble. It is real chaos."  Olafsdottir saidÂ thousands of peopleÂ wereÂ trapped inside.  The incident occured in the town of Kathiraveli in the eastern district of Batticaloa.  The Sri Lankan army said it had no details of casualties.  Amnesty International, the international rights group, condemned the incident. Purna Sen, Amnesty's Asia Pacific director, said: "It is appalling that the military should attack a camp for displaced people - these are civilians who have already been forced from their homes because of the conflict." 'Human shields' denial However, the militaryÂ denied it had attacked a refugee camp and said it had retaliated with artillery and mortar bomb fire afterÂ the LTTE fired on military camps in the areaÂ during theÂ early morning, injuring five soldiers.  Purna Sen, Amnesty's Asia Pacific director, said: "It is appalling that the military should attack a camp for displaced people - these are civilians who have already been forced from their homes because of the conflict."  "We located the LTTE gun positions with radar and launched a precise retaliatory attack.Â It was not a refugees camp, it was an LTTE camp,"Â Prasad Samarasinghe, aÂ spokesperson for the Media Centre for National Security, told Al Jazeera.  Samarasinghe said the Sri Lankan army had been pressingÂ civilians to leaveÂ Tiger areas but the LTTE had been usingÂ them as human shields.  The Tigers denied the accusation and condemned the incident in an internet statement.  "The mindless and cruel attack on a helpless refugee population which has already been subjected to blockades of all sorts of essential items is difficult to understand," theÂ fighters said.  Peace talks collapse The LTTE and the Sri Lankan military have clashed repeatedly in the north and theÂ east in recent months, since peace talks collapsed in late October.Â Â Â The first peace talks in eight monthsÂ failed over a Tiger demand that the governmentÂ reopen the main north-south highway which runs through Tiger territory to Jaffna, a government-held enclave on the northern tip of the island.  The LTTE and the Sri Lankan military have clashed repeatedly in the north and theÂ east in recent months, since peace talks collapsed in late October.Â Â Â  Tiger areas have been bombed repeatedly since peace talks failed.  More than 65,000 people have been killed in the conflict since 1983.
Up to 50 Sri Lankan civilians are reported to have been killed and more than 125 injured after artillery hit a refugee camp in the east of the country.