Fresh Fighting Kills 31 Tiger Rebels in Sri LankaFresh fighting between Sri Lankan government forces and separatist Tamil Tiger rebels on Tuesday left 31 rebels dead in north Jaffna peninsula, a military spokesman said on Wednesday, December 6.Military spokesman Sanath Karunaratne said 31 rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were killed and more than 56 others wounded in the fighting. He added that government troops observed more than 15 bodies of Tiger rebels scattered in the areas newly captured by government forces. They also recovered a large number of mortar bombs and ammunition and other war-like equipment left behind by fleeing rebels. The spokesman said 12 soldiers were also killed and 21 others wounded in the fighting. Clearing-up operations have been hampered by a large number of mines left behind by the Tiger rebels, he said. Despite an unconditional peace offer by LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran in early November, fighting between the two sides has been continuing. Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake has said the government would never agree to a cease-fire as a precondition to talks with the rebels. However, he added that if there was a conducive atmosphere for the peace talks, it would respond positively. The LTTE rebels have been fighting against government forces for a separate homeland for minority Tamils in the north and east of the country since 1983. The long-running war has claimed more than 60,000 lives. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ |