இலங்கை ராணுவம் புலிகளின் தலைநகருக்குள் நுழைந்தனர்

Sri Lankan troops enter rebel capital's district

BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI

ASSOCIATED PRESS



August 2, 2008

COLOMBO, SRI LANKA (AP) - Sri Lankan government troops have entered the district housing the Tamil Tiger rebels' de facto capital for the first time in 11 years, the military said Saturday as a regional summit opened in the capital.

Fierce new fighting between government forces and the rebels across the country's embattled northern region killed 38 rebels and 14 soldiers, the military said.

Leaders and officials from eight South Asian nations gathered Saturday in Colombo for an annual regional summit at which they are expected to approve accords on fighting terrorism, including freezing funds used for attacks.

The government sealed off roads and sent 19,000 troops and soldiers onto the streets of the capital to prevent any bombings. A rebel attack in the capital during the summit would be deeply embarrassing for the government.

Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said army troops had crossed into Kilinochchi district, where the rebels' de facto capital is located, in fighting Thursday for the first time in 11 years.

He said troops had moved about half a mile into the district.

Fighting also took place throughout Friday as the army pushed into rebel-held territory in the Mullaitivu, Vavuniya, Mannar and Welioya regions, Nanayakkara said.

In the worst battle, 11 soldiers and nine rebels were killed in the village of Mallavi in Mullaitivu, he said. Fighting in Vavuniya killed 15 rebels and one soldier, he said.

Scattered battles in Mannar and Welioya killed 14 insurgents and two soldiers, he said.

Troops on Saturday captured rebel-held Vellankulam village in Mannar, the last rebel stronghold in the area, Nanayakkara said.

The whole Mannar area is now under the control of government forces, he said, adding that information about casualties was not immediately available.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan was not available for comment. Both sides routinely exaggerate enemy casualties and underreport their own. Independent verification of the fighting is not possible because journalists are barred from the war zone.

The new fighting along the front lines of the 20-year-old civil war comes despite a declaration from rebels that they would observe a unilateral cease-fire from July 26 in honor of the summit. However, the rebels have said they would defend themselves if attacked.

The government rejected the cease-fire gesture and has continued its offensive against their de facto state in the north, saying the rebels are trying to buy themselves time to regroup after a series of battlefield losses.

The summit of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation brings together the heads of government of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The Tamil rebels have been fighting for an independent state in the north and east since 1983, following decades of marginalization of ethnic Tamils by governments dominated by the Sinhalese majority. The fighting has escalated in recent months after the government vowed to crush the rebels by the end of the year.

More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.