Sri Lanka says fighting kills 11 rebels in north

Colombo, Aug 30: Sri Lankan soldiers killed 11 Tamil Tiger rebels in three different clashes in the island's north since yesterday, the military said.

The violence in the northern districts of Jaffna and Vavuniya is the latest in a spate of land and sea clashes, ambushes and air raids between the armed forces and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.

A spokesman at the Media Centre for National Security said a large number of rebels and one soldier were also wounded in the clashes.

''The military killed seven Tigers who tried to infiltrate from Muhamalai Forward Defence line in Jaffna and another three in Vavuniya when the military retaliated for LTTE mortar attack.'' The military said they found another body of a rebel in Vavuniya, an assault rifle and ammunition.

An estimated 5,000 people have died since last year in renewed fighting after a peace process collapsed.

About 70,000 people have died and hundreds of thousands displaced since the civil war erupted in 1983.

The Tigers, who say they are fighting for an independent state for minority ethnic Tamils in the north and east, were not immediately available for comment on the latest violence.

Fighting is now focused in the north after the military evicted the Tigers from their last stronghold in the east. However, analysts see no clear winner on the horizon and fear the fighting could grind on for years.

Reuters
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