By Simon Gardner

KIRIMUDDI, Sri Lanka, March 16 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka is packing war refugees like fisherman Kandavel Kandan into buses to resettle them in captured rebel territory in the east of the island, but for many, it's a reluctant homecoming.

The refugees say that deadly artillery duels that drove them from their homes could resume, and they could get caught up in sporadic attacks as the Sri Lankan military seeks to drive Tamil Tiger rebels from the east altogether.

Also, mines are still being cleared, and others say they have been warned they will no longer receive rations if they refuse to be resettled, which authorities deny.

"I am going with fear, expecting a shell attack from the militant group or from the forces," said 22-year-old Kandan, sweat beading on his lip as he, his wife and infant son were herded onto a bus in the sweltering heat at this camp in the restive district of Batticaloa.

"It is because of this fear only that we are displaced as refugees here in the first place," he added, as the bus set off for his hometown of Muttur, which was ravaged by fierce battles last year. "The authorities have not assured our security."

An estimated 120,000-150,000 people have been displaced by artillery duels and air raids in recent months as the military drove the Tigers from a stronghold near the strategic port of Trincomalee, 155 miles (250 km) northeast of Colombo, and refugees continue to flee an army offensive further south.

WAR RAGES ON

The Tigers have been evicted from an estimated 600 square kilometres of territory they controlled under the terms of a now-tattered 2002 ceasefire pact, and the Tigers, fighting for an independent state, warn of a bloodbath if the army tries to capture any more.

The military has vowed to wipe out the rebels, to the consternation of the international community, and analysts fear a war that has killed around 68,000 people since 1983 -- around 4,000 of those in the past 15 months alone -- is set to escalate.

"They have threatened me: 'If the bus is going, you also must go. If you stay back, no food items will be supplied to you,' " said angry refugee, 46-year-old fisherman Veluyathan Sivaralamalingham. He refused to say who had threatened him, for fear of retribution.

"They say, 'If one or two stay back, you will not be given even water to drink!' "

Camps are full. Some of the displaced are living in school classrooms, dozens of families grouped together on the floor, children's desks piled up in a jumble in the corner. Aid workers say some are still living under trees.

Tents are insufferably hot under the midday sun, so men, women and children huddle under the shade of trees nearby to while away the day.

A few are eager to return home to restart their livelihoods and recover long-abandoned property, but for the fearful others, rights advocates say forcing refugees to return home is against international humanitarian law.

"Our concerns for the people returning to Vakarai is two-fold," said Martin de Boer, head of Batticaloa mission of the International Committee of the Red Cross, referring to a captured rebel eastern stronghold.

"Is it voluntary, yes or no? And is the area completely de-mined, yes or no? Is it safe enough to return?

"There are different ways of forcing. And threatening not to provide food or assistance or facilities to make people go somewhere else is a way to do that," he said, adding however he had received conflicting reports about whether people had been threatened.

Local authorities deny any coercion and say they continue to give out rations. But the military acknowledges President Mahinda Rajapakse's government is trying to push refugees back to captured Vakarai as soon as possible, a move seen aimed at relieving overcrowding at camps.

"Some people from particular divisions don't want to go, because if they do, they have to stay in a camp. They can't go to their own land, because there is some de-mining, so they don't want to go," said local government official K. Pathmarajah, Divisional Secretary in Valachchennai in Batticaloa district.

"We didn't send those people," she said. "We are giving rations, no problem. In my division, we are giving. They can stay in the camps."

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