Eight civilians, including three children, were killed when mortar shells slammed into a village on the frontline of fighting between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels, the military and rebels said yesterday.
Both sides blamed each other for the shelling late on Thursday, which came as the Sri Lankan army steps up its efforts to oust the rebels from bases they control in the island's east. The military has reported killing up to 140 insurgents in recent assaults.
Fighting in the last two days has centered on the Tiger's Thoppigala base, one of their last redoubts in the area and difficult for the government to conquer because of its huge rock formation that provides perfect cover for rebel fighters during combat.
The army said the deadly mortar fire came from this base.
"We are left with no option, but to intensify our operations to silence their guns," military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said.
Eight Tamil civilians who had taken cover in a government controlled area were killed and 18 wounded, said Lieutenant Colonel Upali Rajapakse, a senior officer.
Rajapakse said the army was trying to evacuate the wounded but was hampered by continuing mortar fire.
However, Tamil Tiger military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan said it was the military who had been shelling the area as part of its offensive.
TamilNet, a pro-rebel Web site, said the dead included two two-year-olds, a 15-year-old and an 18-year-old. Three of them were siblings, the site said, quoting villagers.
It was not possible to independently verify the claims and both sides frequently blame each other for civilian deaths.
Sri Lanka's undeclared war took on heightened drama this week, with the rebels' first airstrike of the conflict on Monday, a suicide bombing at a military camp on Tuesday and a naval battle off the eastern coast on Thursday.
Sri Lankan navy ships intercepted a flotilla of Tamil Tiger boats during Thursday's three-hour sea battle, sinking three of them and killing at least 16 rebels.
RSS