Lanka says rebels attack navy, 1 boat on fire

COLOMBO, June 28: Tamil Tiger rebels today attacked two small Sri Lankan navy vessels at sea around 100 miles north of the capital Colombo, setting one alight, the military said.

Military sources said around 15 Tiger vessels were involved in the clash, the latest in a series many fear could rekindle civil war on the island.

There were no details of any casualties, but communications were lost with one of the boats with an estimated seven people aboard.

''Firing is still going on. One of the navy boats is on fire,'' Navy spokesman Commander D K P Dassanayake said. ''The Air Force is also engaged.'' He said the incident occurred around 93 miles north of the capital, and not 22 miles as previously believed.

The attack comes on the heels of a rash of ambushes and military clashes that have killed around 700 people -- half of them civilians -- so far this year.

In a separate incident, the military said one soldier was killed and three civilians were wounded when Tiger rebels attacked an army camp with mortar fire, while residents in the district said five Tamil youths had been stabbed to death.

The Tigers were not immediately available for comment.

Today's incidents came as the military prepared for the funeral of the Army's deputy chief of staff, who was assassinated by a suspected rebel suicide bomber on Monday.

Sri Lanka's tortuous peace process is deadlocked and teetering on collapse. The government and rebels are sharply divided over the Tigers' demands for a separate homeland for minority Tamils in the north and east.

Many diplomats fear a full-blown return to a two-decade civil war that has killed around 65,000 people since 1983.

REUTERS

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