Sri Lankan Troops Killed nearly 800 Tiger Rebels Since Last SeptemberThe Sri Lankan government forces has killed a total of 787 separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in the northern Jaffna peninsula during the last four months while 246 rebels were wounded, the Defense Ministry said.The ministry was quoted by the state-run Daily News as saying on Tuesday that government troops also lost 268 soldiers in fightings during the same period. It said that a total of 139 square kilometers of territory held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was recaptured in a series of major military operations against LTTE rebels since early September last year. Army Commander Lieutenant General Lionel Balagalle said on the New Year's eve that government forces have gained control of most of the Jaffna peninsula and the success was the gift to the nation from the troops for the New Year. On December 30 last year, government forces captured the strategically important Navatkuli bridge on the A-9 highway connecting Jaffna and Chavakachcheri, the second largest city in Jaffna peninsula. A total of 50 kilometers of rebel-held area was taken back. In the latest fighting on Monday, troops captured LTTE food stocks and weapons in large quantities in the north. The government said that the food stockpile suggests the Tiger rebels were trying to regroup and target military positions guarding Jaffna peninsula. The LTTE rebels declared on December 21 that they will start a month-long ceasefire from midnight on December 24 "as a goodwill measure to facilitate the peace process." However, the government responded the LTTE ceasefire offer two days later by saying it will consider a ceasefire only after peace negotiations between the government and the LTTE rebels proceed to the mutual satisfaction of both sides. In two consecutive days after LTTE's ceasefire offer government forces launched massive attacks against the Tiger rebels in the northern Jaffna peninsula, inflicting heavy casualties to the rebels and recapturing 34 square kilometers of land. The LTTE rebels have been fighting since 1983 for a separate Tamil state in the north and east of the country. In the past they have entered peace negotiations with the government several times but they violated agreements with the government and resumed fighting soon after. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ |