The Hindu : Front Page : Fresh fighting reported in Sri Lanka

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 01, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Fresh fighting reported in Sri Lanka

V.S. Sambandan

LTTE gunboats open fire on Sri Lankan Army positions

COLOMBO: Fresh fighting broke out between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and security forces in north-eastern Sri Lanka on Sunday, the Sri Lankan Army said.

Barring "unconfirmed reports of a few civilian casualties," there has been no major damage, the Army said. The fresh fighting commenced on Sunday evening when "LTTE gunboats opened fire on a Government bunker" at Kokkilai, a fishing village on the eastern coast.

After the LTTE gunboats "withdrew," the rebels opened artillery and mortar fire at a Forward Defence Line that separates Government and rebel territories there, the Army said. There are also reports of civilians leaving the fishing village for the nearby Pulmoddai town.

"The Army retaliated, but no damages or injuries have been reported so far," an official in the military spokesperson's office in Colombo told The Hindu on Sunday evening. "The fighting has now stopped and the Army camp is safe," he added.

Camps overrun

In an earlier attack in the early hours of Sunday, the LTTE overran three camps in eastern Sri Lanka belonging to the supporters of its former Special Commander for Batticaloa-Amparai, V. Muralitharan ("Col." Karuna) in eastern Sri Lanka, reports from the east said.

According to sources the three camps were located on border of the Batticaloa and Polonnaruwa districts. The LTTE said 29 supporters of "Col." Karuna were killed and 15 injured in the attacks, while Karuna's supporters say six of their men and seven LTTE cadres were killed.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail