Sri Lanka rebels say army mounts offensive in north

COLOMBO, Oct 11: Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers said today the army had begun a major offensive in the island's far north, a day after they warned further incursions could prompt full-blown civil war.

The Tigers said the army had advanced past their own forward defence lines in the besieged Jaffna peninsula towards rebel lines, and were firing heavy artillery and multi-barrelled rockets.

Residents in Jaffna could hear artillery fire in the distance. The military said it had no details of any operation.

''The military is staging a full-scale offensive along our northern border,'' Tiger military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiraiyan told Reuters from the northern rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi.

''They have come as far as our positions, but they haven't breached them,'' he added. ''They are firing the biggest of their guns.'' The Tigers warned President Mahinda Rajapakse's government yesterday they were giving it a final opportunity to show good faith ahead of peace talks due in Geneva on October 28-29, and said prospects of saving what is left of a tattered 2002 truce would fade if talks fail.

Some analysts and diplomats suspect the Tigers have only agreed to talks to buy time to regroup after a series of military defeats, while senior members of the security forces say they are keen to kill as many Tigers as possible before any talks start.

REUTERS

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