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Rebel artillery fire hits Catholic church in Sri Lanka , killing 6 soldiers, military says
Associated Press,
Tue February 12, 2008 05:37 EST .
KRISHAN FRANCIS - Associated Press Writer - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Artillery fired by Tamil separatists hit a Roman Catholic church near a military base in Sri Lanka - 's embattled north Tuesday, killing six soldiers who were cleaning the building, the military said. About 15 shells hit St. Anthony's Church and the nearby area in the village of Thalladi in the Mannar district, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said. He said the military undertook cleaning at the request of priests who visited the church Monday. The Rev. Victor Sosai said the military did not allow civilians to worship in the church with military activity increasing in the past two months. The attack came a day after escalating fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger fighters along the front lines of the civil war killed 42 rebels and 10 soldiers, the military announced Tuesday. Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not immediately be reached for comment. Fighting has escalated around the rebel strongholds in the north in recent months after the government vowed to dismantle the rebel administration and crush their decades-old separatist campaign. The government earlier this year officially withdrew from a six-year-old cease-fire with the rebels. The pact had been ignored by both sides for the past two years. Tamil Tiger rebels have fought the government since 1983 to create a separate homeland for the country's ethnic minority Tamils. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.Discuss this story
Published: Tue Feb 12 07:30:01 EST 2008
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