Sri Lanka fighting ends lull

By Staff
|
Google Oneindia News

COLOMBO, Sep 17 (Reuters) Sri Lankan government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels exchanged gunfire and skirmished at sea today, bringing to an end a four-day lull in fighting around the besieged Jaffna peninsula.

Residents reported brief exchanges of gunfire south of Jaffna near a vital road artery as well as a volley of artillery fire from both sides.

A military spokesman said Sri Lankan naval vessels and ''Sea Tigers'' from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) also clashed at sea and that one rebel boat had been sunk.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Norwegian mediators are trying to fix a date for direct talks between the government and LTTE rebels after both sides announced last week they were ready to resume talks after a gap of five months.

But both have also set conditions, with the government demanding a written guarantee that rebel attacks would cease, and the Tigers insisting on an end to army offensives.

The government and rebels accuse each other of trying to restart a two-decade civil war that has killed more than 65,000 people since 1983.

The LTTE pulled out of peace talks in April and a new bout of fighting erupted in late July, killing hundreds of troops, rebels and civilians in the worst violence since a 2002 ceasefire.

REUTERS MQA BS1814

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