Sri Lankan Air Force Jets Bomb Tiger Rebel TargetsSri Lankan air force jets launched air strikes against two bases of separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in northern Jaffna peninsula of the country on Tuesday, a military spokesman said.Military spokesman Sanath Karunaratne said that the air force aircraft carried out the attacks at Muhamalai near the strategic Elephant pass in Jaffna and a nearby Sea Tiger base. Pilots have confirmed that the rebel targets were hit but no immediate rebel casualties were available, he said. The fresh attack came only days after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) made new demands for possible peace talks with the government. The LTTE said on Saturday in a statement that they would not take part in any peace talks unless the government lifts a ban on them and responds positively to their unilateral ceasefire. The LTTE has extended their unilateral ceasefire, which began on Christmas eve last year, by one more month till April 24 and warned that they would break it if the government wound not respond positively. The government has maintained that a reciprocal ceasefire is possible only after talks between the two sides make substantive progress. The LTTE rebels have been fighting against government forces since 1983 in the north and east of the country for a separate Tamil state. More than 60,000 people have been killed in the bloody war. |
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