COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka's air force launched attacks on Tamil Tiger rebels along the northern front lines Thursday, while infantry clashes killed eight rebels and two soldiers, the military said.
Air force helicopter gunships hit a rebel fortification in the northern district of Vavuniya, bordering the rebels' de facto state, said air force spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara.
He said the attack early Thursday was launched in support of army troops fighting in the area.
Details of damage and casualties were not available immediately, he said.
Meanwhile, infantry clashes continued Wednesday along the front lines in Vavuniya, Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Welioya regions, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara.
In the main battle, soldiers killed six guerrillas in Vavuniya, while in Kilinochchi two rebels died of fighting, Nanayakkara said.
A rebel mortar attack killed a soldier along the front lines in the village of Kilali on the Jaffna peninsula while another soldier was killed in Welioya, he added.
Rebels' military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not be reached for comment.
Both sides routinely exaggerate enemy casualties and underreport their own. Independent verification of the fighting is not possible because journalists are barred from the war zone.
Aid groups have said the government cut off most phone service to the rebel areas in recent weeks, a charge the military denied.
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.
In recent weeks, Sri Lanka's military has reported government forces have broken through the rebels' defenses and seized a series of key towns and bases.
International aid groups have said the new fighting has forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee their homes.
Source
Comments