COLOMBO (AFP) - The Sri Lankan government on Tuesday launched a furious attack on human rights and aid groups, accusing them of supporting the Tamil Tigers and trying to prolong the island's civil war.

The defence ministry said groups "pretending to be humanitarian agencies, aid agencies, free media, civil rights movements... have made the continued bloodshed on Sri Lankan soil a lucrative business."

It accused aid agencies and rights groups -- who have been highly critical of a government offensive in northern areas held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam -- of trying "to ensure that the LTTE's war would never end."

"Both have been acting in perfect harmony since both are interested in terrorism to prevail in the country," the ministry said in a report posted on its website.

The statement coincided with a fresh report from the New York-based Human Rights Watch that said indiscriminate army shelling was killing dozens of civilians every day in a supposed no-fire zone.

"We receive reports of civilians being killed and wounded daily in the no-fire zone, while the Sri Lankan government continues to deny the attacks," said Brad Adams, Asia director at New York-based Human Rights Watch.

The group, however, also said the LTTE's use of civilians as human shields "adds to the bloodshed."

Sri Lanka is under pressure from the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and neighbouring India to ensure that civilians are not caught up in the final phase of its offensive to finish off the cornered rebels.