Rebels say break through Sri Lanka defences

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka, Aug 12 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels said today they had broken through army defences in the island's far north and were advancing on the government-held Jaffna peninsula, in the fiercest fighting since a 2002 truce.

The Tigers said they had destroyed army checkpoints and were advancing along the main A9 arterial road that connects Jaffna to their stronghold.

Aid workers reported pockets of fighting inside government territory near army defence lines and truce monitors received reports of fighting on beaches near Jaffna. Residents said hundreds were fleeing fishing villages near Jaffna.

The military said it still controlled the whole peninsula and had killed 100 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels, but said a few might have got through. The Navy said it had sunk five Sea Tiger boats near Jaffna.

''We have completely destroyed the army checkpoints at the Muhamalai (border) crossing, and we are advancing on Jaffna,'' a Tiger official at the rebel Voice of Tigers radio station told Reuters, asking not to be named.

He said that the rebels' feared Sea Tiger wing had attacked just south of Jaffna town and assaulted a navy base at the island's northern tip before dawn. Hundreds of residents fled villages near Jaffna, and sought refuge in Catholic churches.

Expatriates headed to a UN compound after being warned to leave immediately.

Around 40,000 troops are stationed in Jaffna, which is cut off from the rest of the island by rebel territory.

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