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Clashes with rebels continue in northern Sri Lanka

Soldiers and Tamil separatists fought gunbattles across embattled northern Sri Lanka, leaving 19 insurgents and two soldiers dead, the military said yesterday.

Troops killed 10 Tamil Tiger rebels in confrontations in three villages in the Vavuniya District on Sunday, just south of rebel-held territory, a defense ministry official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak the media. One soldier was also killed.

Separate battles in nearby Mannar District left eight insurgents and one soldier dead, and another rebel was killed on the northern Jaffna Peninsula, the official said.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not immediately be reached for comment. It is impossible to independently verify the military's claim because access to the area is restricted. Both sides often exaggerate their enemies' casualties while undercounting their own.

Including the latest clashes, a total of 41 rebels and three soldiers were killed along the northern front lines over the weekend, military figures showed.

Fighting has escalated in recent weeks along the front lines surrounding the Tamil Tiger rebels' de facto state in the north. The military push is aimed at crushing the separatist movement and ending nearly a quarter-century of war.

The rebels began fighting in 1983 to create an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils after decades of discrimination under Sri Lankna governments controlled by the Sinhalese majority.

More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict. A 2002 ceasefire between the Tamil Tigers and the government broke down two years ago.
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