``The two parties have decided to fight each other,'' said Rohan Gunaratna, head of terrorism research at Singapore's Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies. ``Continuing the current spate of violence is not going to bring about a different outcome or change the status quo.''

The South Asian island nation of 20 million people is experiencing the worst fighting since a cease-fire was declared in 2002, a truce that helped the $26 billion economy post uninterrupted growth since then. Two rounds of peace talks in Geneva last year between the government and LTTE failed to make any progress. More... Discuss this story Published: Wed Mar 21 22:38:03 EDT 2007

Associated Press Writer

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) _ Separatist Tamil Tiger rebels and Sri Lankan troops battled overnight for territory in a volatile eastern district, leaving at least eight rebels and four soldiers dead, the military said Wednesday. A separate clash in north killed at least five rebels.

Air force fighter jets strafed two rebel positions to assist soldiers on the ground as fierce fighting continued Wednesday, air force spokesman Capt. Ajantha Silva told reporters in the capital, Colombo.

``The air force has taken two targets to help our ground forces,'' said Silva.

The battle came a day after the U.N. warned it was running out of food for tens of thousands of refugees in eastern Batticaloa district, where most of the violence is taking place.

Gunfights were ongoing near a strategic bridge about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from Batticaloa, said military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe.

``The terrorists mounted a severe attack on our camps in Batticaloa district soon after midnight,'' Samarasinghe said.

About 30 rebels were killed in the fighting, but the military recovered the bodies of only eight guerrillas, including one woman, he said. The others were likely taken by retreating rebels, he added.

Four soldiers were killed and 11 others wounded, two seriously, Samarasinghe said, after the clashes around Batticaloa, about 220 kilometers (130 miles) east of Colombo.

Separately on Wednesday, army troops killed five rebels in an overnight clash when insurgents attempted to infiltrate a defense line in northern Jaffna peninsula, Samarasinghe said.

No independent confirmation of the military's casualty figures was available.

A rebel spokesman said he was aware of the fighting, but didn't have any other information.

``I can confirm there was a battle, but we are yet to have details,'' Daya Master said from rebel headquarters in Kilinochchi.

A surge in fighting between government troops and the Tamil rebels in recent weeks has triggered a sharp rise in the number of people fleeing their homes, especially in Batticaloa.

On Tuesday, the United Nations' World Food Program warned it was running out of food for the tens of thousands of people displaced by the fighting.

An influx of new refugees was creating a major humanitarian challenge and without new funding, food supplies will run out by the end of April, said WFP Regional Director for Asia Tony Banbury in a statement.

More than 155,000 displaced people are now estimated to need immediate food and relief assistance in the conflict-affected area, WFP said.

The rebels began fighting in 1983 for a separate homeland for Sri Lanka's 3.1 million minority ethnic Tamils.

A Norwegian-brokered cease-fire in 2002 slowed the violence, but fighting flared again in 2005 after a new government was elected on a platform of getting tough with the insurgents. At least 4,000 people have since been killed, although neither side has officially withdrawn from the truce.

Associated Press Writer Bharatha Mallawarachi contributed to this reportDiscuss this story Published: Wed Mar 21 07:23:47 EDT 2007