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Fighting in northern Sri Lanka kills 14 rebels, 2 soldiers, military says
Associated Press,
Wed March 5, 2008 06:16 EST .
- - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Sri Lanka - 's military pounded rebel positions with helicopter gunships and fought a series of ground battles with Tamil separatists in fighting that killed 14 guerrillas and two soldiers, the military said Wednesday. Meanwhile, a roadside bomb exploded near the town of Vavuniya inside government-held territory, injuring two police officers, the military said. Reports of fighting have increased in recent months amid government promises to capture the Tamil Tiger rebels' de facto state in the north and crush the group by the end of the year. But diplomats and other observers say the army is facing far more resistance than it had expected. Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan did not answer calls seeking comment Wednesday. It is not possible to independently verify reports of the fighting because the government has restricted access to the northern jungles where it is taking place. Both sides routinely exaggerate their opponents' casualty figures while underreporting their own. Most of the reported fighting broke out Tuesday in the Mannar area along the front lines south of rebel-held territory, according to the military. In one battle, helicopters attacked rebel targets in Mannar, killing five people, the military said in a statement. Two other nearby battles killed eight other rebels, the military said. Two soldiers were also killed in the Mannar fighting, it said. A clash in the Jaffna peninsula north of rebel territory killed one Tamil separatist, the military said. The Tamil Tigers have been fighting since 1983 for an independent state in the north and east for the country's ethnic Tamil minority after decades of being marginalized by Sinhalese-dominated governments. The fighting has killed more than 70,000 people.Discuss this story
Published: Wed Mar 5 08:59:34 EST 2008
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