PESALAI, Sri Lanka (AP) – Tamil villagers, terrified by an approaching Sri Lankan government patrol, sought shelter Sunday in the same church where they say soldiers fired on them a day before, and elsewhere at least three police officers died in a blast blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels.

The government denied killing civilians, blaming the Tigers for the attack. But many witnesses and an international aid worker said Sri Lankan forces were responsible, as the island nation appeared to edge even closer toward all-out civil war.

When word spread Sunday morning that a military patrol was coming, people in the tiny, remote northwestern fishing village of Pesalai panicked.

Men, women and children ran from their homes to Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Church.

The patrol, however, stayed on the road and did not approach the church or homes. The navy said the troops were there to guard against rebel infiltration.

“We all know that (the Tamil rebels) often infiltrate among civilians and we had to be there to safeguard against that,” said Commander DKP Dassanayake, a navy spokesman.

Separately Sunday, a powerful mine blast left at least three policemen dead in northern Sri Lanka, police said.