Sri Lanka says fighter jets bomb rebel bases

Colombo, June 2: Sri Lankan jets pounded two Tamil Tiger bases in the island's restive east today, the air force said, but the rebels denied any of their military installations were hit and said there were no casualties.

Air force spokesman Group Captain Ajantha De Silva said fighter jets bombed Tiger bases in an area of jungle called Thoppigala in the eastern district of Batticaloa, where the government is seeking to stamp out the insurgents.

''The air force fighter jets bombed two LTTE bases in Toppigala and the pilots confirmed the target was correctly taken,'' De Silva said.

There was no independent confirmation of what the jets hit.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who are fighting for an independent state in the island's north and east, said their forces were locked in close-quarters skirmishes with troops in the area, but gave no further details.

''They have not hit any of our installations. The bombs caused no casualties,'' rebel military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiraiyan said by telephone from the de facto rebel capital at Kilinochchi in the far north.

The government said on Thursday it might scrap what is left of a ''flawed'' 2002 ceasefire pact with the rebels within weeks.

Analysts say that could pave the way for fighting to escalate.

In a separate incident before dawn today, the military said it had killed three Tiger rebels near defence lines separating government from rebel-held territory in the northern district of Vavuniya.

Fighting is now focused on the north after the military captured the Tigers' eastern stronghold, and today's violence is the latest in a string of land and sea battles and air strikes in recent months. Around 4,000 people have been killed since last year alone.

The government has vowed to destroy the Tigers militarily, while the rebels say they will step up attacks using a homegrown air force of light planes smuggled into the country in pieces in their fight for an independent state.

Analysts say there is no clear winner on the horizon and fear a protracted conflict that has killed nearly 70,000 people since 1983 could rumble on for years.

Reuters

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