COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: Battles raged in war-torn northern Sri Lanka leaving 27 rebels and one soldier dead after a unilateral cease-fire called by the Tamil Tigers ended, said the military Tuesday.
Scattered battles Monday in the rebel-held Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu regions killed 12 rebels and one soldier, the military said in statement. Sri Lankan troops fired artillery into Welioya region, killing two rebels while infantry fighting in the area left four more guerrillas dead.
Soldiers also destroyed a rebel bunker in Vavuniya area, where separate clashes killed nine rebels.
Tamil Tiger spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan was not available for comment.
Both sides routinely exaggerate enemy casualties and underreport their own, and independent verification of the death toll from fighting is not possible because journalists are barred from the war zone.
The rebels have been fighting for an independent state in the north and east since 1983, following decades of marginalization of ethnic Tamils by governments dominated by the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
Monday's fighting coincided with the end of a 10-day unilateral cease-fire declared by rebels as a goodwill gesture amid a high profile regional summit held last weekend in the capital Colombo. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation meeting concluded Sunday.
Despite the cease-fire call, the government pressed ahead with its offensive against the Tigers in their de facto state in the north. The government rejected the truce as a ploy by the rebels to gain time to regroup after several recent battlefield losses.
Fighting has escalated in recent months after the government vowed to crush the guerillas by the end of the year.
Scattered battles Monday in the rebel-held Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu regions killed 12 rebels and one soldier, the military said in statement. Sri Lankan troops fired artillery into Welioya region, killing two rebels while infantry fighting in the area left four more guerrillas dead.
Soldiers also destroyed a rebel bunker in Vavuniya area, where separate clashes killed nine rebels.
Tamil Tiger spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan was not available for comment.
Both sides routinely exaggerate enemy casualties and underreport their own, and independent verification of the death toll from fighting is not possible because journalists are barred from the war zone.
The rebels have been fighting for an independent state in the north and east since 1983, following decades of marginalization of ethnic Tamils by governments dominated by the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
Monday's fighting coincided with the end of a 10-day unilateral cease-fire declared by rebels as a goodwill gesture amid a high profile regional summit held last weekend in the capital Colombo. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation meeting concluded Sunday.
Despite the cease-fire call, the government pressed ahead with its offensive against the Tigers in their de facto state in the north. The government rejected the truce as a ploy by the rebels to gain time to regroup after several recent battlefield losses.
Fighting has escalated in recent months after the government vowed to crush the guerillas by the end of the year.
- added August 05, 2008
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