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Sri Lanka declares security alert
CYCLE OF VIOLENCE:
Already-tight security was beefed up further as more than 50 people died in fierce fighting between the government and Tamil Tigers yesterday
AFP, COLOMBO
Monday, Jun 19, 2006, Page 4
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Sri Lankan villagers look at burnt boats, in Pesalai, about 234km from Colombo yesterday. Sri Lankan troops stormed a village church of Pesalai, where about 200 Tamil civilians were seeking shelter on Saturday, shooting, throwing grenades and then attacking fishermen in an assault that killed five people and injured 47 more, witnesses said.
PHOTO: AP
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A security alert was in place across Sri Lanka yesterday after Tamil Tiger rebels vowed to retaliate for air attacks following a day of fierce battles on land and sea that left more than 50 people dead.
A police water pump was blown up in a Claymore mine attack in the north-central district of Anuradhapura yesterday, killing three constables, the military said.
A military spokesman said they believed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) carried out the bombing.
Also yesterday the Tigers and a breakaway faction of rebels clashed in the island's east, leaving at least six guerrillas dead, military officials said, citing intercepts of rebel radio communications.
Already tight security was further strengthened in the face of escalating violence in northern and eastern regions on Saturday that saw furious fighting between troops and the rebels.
"We have made sure that security is tight," inspector general of police, Chandra Fernando said yesterday. "We are seeking public cooperation to track down any suspicious activity."
Fernando said the LTTE had deployed a new type of sea mine along the northwest coast against a naval patrol, but five divers laying the mines were arrested. One died after committing suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule.
The arrests came as the LTTE warned that the country would be pushed back to a "fatal war" if the military resumes air strikes.
Fighter jets bombed suspected Tiger positions on Thursday and Friday as a deterrent against more attacks following Thursday's blast on an overcrowded bus in which 64 people were killed.
On Saturday at least 52 people were killed as fierce sea and land battles erupted.
The leader of the LTTE's political wing, S.P. Thamilselvan, denied Tiger involvement with Thursday's bus attack.
"We categorically deny the accusation that the Tigers attacked the civilian passenger bus," he said in remarks published on the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com Web site.
The military has brushed aside rebel denials and carried out air attacks as well as artillery strikes against Tiger positions.
There have been no reports of casualties and Tamilnet reported on Friday that two out of six bombs dropped by the planes did not explode.
Thamilselvan said the attacks "would only lead Sri Lanka to a fatal war."
The LTTE fought a major sea battle against navy patrol craft along the northwest of the island on Saturday, killing at least 12 sailors and destroying three boats, officials said.
The defense ministry said the navy and the air force beat back the Tiger offensive by sinking eight Tiger craft and killing 30, wounded.
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