One of the more upsetting trends in warfare of late is the use of human shields.  Christopher Albon has an interesting piece on the use of human shields by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in northern Sri Lanka.  The Tigers, of course, are quickly losing territory to the Sri Lankan military, and have resorted to using up to 100,000 civilians as shields.

Amongst the concerns here are, aside from stating it will not surrender, which seems obvious, the LTTE refuses to let these refugees go, and even claims that the Sri Lankan Army is kidnapping people who are staying willingly.