United Nations, Aug 15, SPA -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, alarmed by the rising death toll in Sri Lanka, issued a statement Monday calling on both sides of the civil conflict to allow civilians to leave dangerous areas.“The secretary-general calls on both parties to allow humanitarian agencies free and unimpeded access to the affected population,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujaric told reporters. “He draws attention to the appeals by Sri Lanka’s humanitarian community for both sides to allow the civilian population to leave the contested areas.”Seven people were killed Monday in a bomb attack in the capital, Columbo, and there were reports that dozens of students were killed by airstrikes on a school in the northeastern part of the country.“The secretary-general stresses that a return to civil war will not resolve the issues involved,” said Dujarric. “He joins the Sri Lanka [peacemaking] co-chairs in calling on the parties to cease hostilities immediately and return to the negotiating table.”--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/382950