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Sri Lankan Govt Forces Launches Fresh Attack Against Tamil Rebels
Sri Lankan government forces launched a fresh offensive against separatist Tamil Tiger rebels on Wednesday morning in northern Jaffna peninsula, only hours after the rebel unilateral ceasefire expired.
Ministry spokesman Sanath Karunaratne said that the pre-dawn offensive was aimed at taking more areas under rebel control and pushing back the rebels.
In a separate development, the military said, 22 government soldiers were wounded due to intermittent mortar fire from Tamil rebels in the north of the country which began on Monday night and continued till early morning on Wednesday.
The fresh offensive came after the LTTE rebels halted their four-month unilateral ceasefire which began on Christmas Eve last year and was extended every month ever since till midnight on Tuesday.
Earlier this month the government also observed a four-day ceasefire to mark the traditional Sinhala and Tamil New Year but without extention.
The LTTE rebels have been fighting against government forces since 1983 for a separatist Tamil homeland in the north and east of the country. The bloody war has claimed over 60,000 lives.
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