Heavy Battles Grip Sri Lanka As Troops Keep Up Offensive
Friday, September 5, 2008 at 2:50 pm Under World News 4 views
COLOMBO:Government forces and Tamil Tiger separatists fought heavy battles in northern Sri Lanka with another 34 combatants killed in fresh clashes, the defence ministry said on Friday.
Troops encountered stiff resistance from the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as troops tried to move deeper into rebel territory, defence officials said.
The ministry said 30 rebels were killed and another 27 wounded in fighting since Thursday, while security forces lost four soldiers killed and another 14 wounded.
The latest casualty figures raise the number of rebels reported killed by troops since January to 6,363. The military says 613 soldiers were killed during the same period.
The figures cannot be independently verified.
The military wants to dismantle the Tigers’ de facto mini-state by capturing the town of Kilinochchi, 330 kilometres (200 miles) north of Colombo. Government troops were said to be within striking distance.
However, the state-run Daily News said Friday the guerrillas offered stiff resistance and both troops and the Tigers suffered damages on “equal terms”.
“More fierce battles are expected as troops close in on Kilinochchi, Mullaittivu,” the paper said, adding the Tigers could offer stiff resistance “for weeks, but not for months”.
However, the paper said the capture earlier this week of the rebel-held town of Mallavi was a severe blow to the guerrillas who are said to be deploying all their resources to guard their political capital of Kilinochchi, further north.
The ethnic Sinhalese-dominated government has asked tens of thousands of Tamil civilians living in rebel territory to cross over to government-held areas in the island’s north to avoid getting caught up in the crossfire.
Tens of thousands have died on both sides of the conflict in more than three decades of bloodshed.
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