Sri Lanka’s ruling party won control of two provincial assemblies yesterday after elections regarded by the government as a referendum on its military offensive against the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels.
The Department of Elections said the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance coalition won 20 seats on the 33-member North Central provincial council and 25 seats in the 44-member Sabaragamuwa council.
The main opposition United National Party captured 29 seats on both councils while the Marxist People’s Liberation Front won three seats in both provinces.
The government led by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said a vote for the United People’s Freedom Alliance, the coalition that governs, would be seen as an endorsement of its war against the rebels.
Opposition parties have accused the government of using military victories for political gain and claimed the ruling coalition misused state properties during the election.
Meanwhile, government troops attacked Tamil Tiger rebels in the war-ravaged north, triggering battles that killed 30 rebels and three soldiers, the military said yesterday.
Fighting has escalated in recent weeks, with the military capturing a series of rebel bases and large chunks of territory and government officials reiterating their pledge to crush the rebel group by the end of the year.
The latest battles erupted on Saturday along the front lines separating government-held territory and the rebels’ de facto state in the north, military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.
In the worst fighting, army troops clashed with rebels in the Welioya area, leaving 16 rebels and one soldier dead, he said.
Another eight soldiers were wounded.
Soldiers also attacked two rebel bunkers in the Vavuniya area, killing nine guerrillas, he said. Two soldiers were wounded in the assault.
Other fighting in the region killed five rebels and two soldiers, he said.
Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not be reached for comment on the military’s claims.
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