Sri Lanka says new offensive to evict Tigers

Colombo, Sep 1 (Reuters) Sri Lankan soldiers started a new offensive today to drive the Tamil Tiger rebels from the northeastern district of Mannar while the military killed eleven rebels in a confrontation elsewhere in the restive north.

The offensive comes days after Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said the country had no plans for a major operation on rebel-held territory.

The clashes in Mannar and Vavuniya are 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.

Military Spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said the new operation was a ''humanitarian offensive to liberate about 6,000 to 7,000 people''.

Samarasinghe said that in a separate incident, the military killed 11 Tamil Tiger rebels.

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

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.

REUTERS GT HT1322