The LTTE offensive continues, taking another government base and, more troubling, cutting the A9 highway. Unless this road can be reopened, several government bases will be cut off from easy access. Thousands of civilian refugees have fled the area. The air force has been hitting rebel columns caught in the open while the navy has prevented the rebels from landing reinforcements along the coast. A Russian AN-36 transport, chartered by the Sri Lankan government, crashed in central Sri Lanka while transporting casualties from the Jaffna peninsula area.