LTTE warns of retaliation, asks peace monitors to calm Lanka

Colombo, June 17 (UNI) The Tamil Tigers today claimed they have informed the Norwegian facilitators and the Scandinavian truce monitors to convey ''a strong warning'' to the Lankan government ''of a possible retaliation following the provocative aerial bombing'' and the long-range artillery attack on the rebel-held North-East region, a pro-LTTE website reported.

''The Lankan Government is responding irresponsibly targeting civilian areas in the aerial raids. The Tamil leadership has forwarded a stern warning to Colombo that the LTTE would be forced to retaliate,'' the pro-LTTE Tamilnet website has quoted the outfit's political wing head S P Thamilselvan as saying in rebel-held Kilinochchi.

Newly-appointed spokesman of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Thorfinnur Omarsson refused to confirm whether the mission received such information from the LTTE to be conveyed to Colombo.

Following the attack on the civilians bus on Thursday in Kebethigollawa, which left at least 64 innocent civilians including children and women killed, Sri Lankan Air Force supersonic fighter jets stepped up its aerial bombardment on ''known LTTE targets'' in the rebel-held Wanni region for the second day yesterday claiming they were deterrent measures to neutralise future Tamil Tiger attacks.

Denying the widespread accusation that it was the Tigers who were responsible for the civilian passenger bus attack, the LTTE's political wing head said ''the forces attempting to marginalise'' the rebel outfit were behind the bus blast.

Members of the international community, including the US, India, France, Australia, Japan and Norway, strongly condemned the claymore attack on the civilian bus and renewed their call for the parties to revive the faltering peace process.

''Faulting the Tigers for Colombo's failure to act responsibly in Oslo and using the post EU-proscription scenario as an advantage affecting the parity of status would only lead Sri Lanka to a fatal war,'' Mr Thamilselvan has been quoted as saying.

The LTTE warning has come barely a few hours after the Lankan Navy and the Tamil Tigers naval wing, Sea Tigers engaged in high-pitch sea battle off the North-Western coast of Mannar, leaving at least 11 naval sailors and the 30 LTTE cadres killed in the early hours.

Navy Spokesman Captain Dassanayake said three navy sailors have been killed and eight more are missing in the attack, while placing the LTTE casualties over 30.

The LTTE, however, in a statement claimed that only two of its cadres sustained minor injuries in the attack.

Asked to comment on the reported navy attack on civilians housed in a Church in Pesalai after the sea clash, where six civilians have been killed and 28 more wounded, the government spokesman on defence matters, Minister Rambukwella told reporters here ''government forces do not attack the civilians.'' ''The investigations are going with regard to the Church attack.

That's all I can tell you at the moment,'' he said.

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