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LTTE attacks army camps

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: At least 12 persons, four soldiers and eight Tamil Tiger cadres, were killed as the LTTE attacked four army camps and checkposts in the Batticaloa district on Wednesday. Military spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said here the LTTE had fired 81 mm and 120 mm mortars at the army camps. There was no word from the Tigers on the fighting.

This is the first such major strike by the Tigers since the military ousted them from Vaharai and the surrounding areas in the third week of January. Reports from the district suggest that panic gripped civilians as the forces and the LTTE fought pitched battles for nearly five hours.

According to the military spokesman, eight bodies were recovered from the area. "LTTE communication intercepts stated over 20 were injured and more were reported dead."

Defence spokesperson and Minister Keheliya Rambukwella complained that a section of the media had accused the Government of forcibly resettling the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the east against their wishes due to inadequate security.

He said it would not be long when such elements begin charging the Government with sending "new settlers" there with a hint of "colonisation." He said the people who traditionally lived in these areas had a right to be resettled in the homes that they abandoned due to LTTE terrorism. Mr. Rambukwella said resettling nearly 1,50,000 IDPs after their infrastructure was destroyed by the LTTE was no easy task. However, a mechanism is in place and the security forces have been involved to provide the needs of the people.

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