SL says sinks rebel suicide boats in new clash

Colombo, Nov 10: Sri Lanka's military said it sank two Tamil Tiger suicide boats before dawn today in a second naval clash in 12 hours, amid growing fears of a new escalation in the island's two-decade civil war.

Officials said the navy spotted two rebel suicide boats hidden among fishing boats in seas off the eastern district of Trincomalee and opened fire.

The clash came after the military said it destroyed 22 rebel vessels off the island's northern tip late yesterday.

''We detected two suicide boats (off Trincomalee) this morning and fired at them. There was a huge explosion and they were completely destroyed,'' a military spokesman said.

The Tigers were not immediately available for comment.

The navy was still searching for the crew of two navy fast attack boats, one sunk and one damaged, following the battle off the north coast late on Thursday. Five sailors had been rescued, officials said, but gave no details of fatalities or anyone missing.

The Tigers accused the navy of provoking that battle, saying their vessels were attacked while conducting exercises at sea. They said their boats had all returned safely to shore.

That attack in turn came after thousands of refugees fled their camp in rebel territory in the restive east after the army bombed it on Wednesday, killing dozens of civilians and injuring at least 125.

The two sides have gone back on pledges they made at abortive peace talks in Geneva in late October to halt the worst violence since a now-battered 2002 ceasefire.

Appalled at repeated truce violations by both sides, many fear the fighting could escalate into a full-blown return to a war that has killed well over 65,000 people since 1983.

''What are they thinking?'' asked one diplomat, asking not to be named. ''It makes you wonder, do they both actually want a war?''
REUTERS

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