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65 die in Sri Lanka fighting

B. Muralidhar Reddy

Tigers forcibly collecting blood, says army

COLOMBO : At least 65 persons, 14 soldiers and 52 Tamil Tiger cadres, were killed in pitched battles along the Forward Defence Lines (FDLs) in the north and stray incidents in the east during the last 48 hours.

The Defence Ministry said the air force on Tuesday bombed a "gathering of LTTE" leaders In Mankulam area.

"Fierce battle between the security forces and the LTTE terrorists erupted in Mullikulam, Kalmadu and Vilathikulam areas in Vavuniya as the LTTE terrorists had launched a major offensive at the security forces FDL in the West of Omanthai on Saturday night. The security forces, after crushing the terror offensive successfully, are now being engaged hunting down the disbanded terror groups in the area." Quoting civilian sources from Kilinochchi, the military said the LTTE was forcibly collecting blood from civilians. "Military sources said that at least 52 terrorists were killed and a large number of others suffered injuries in the attack."

Hearing on relief work

According to Media Centre for National Security (MCNS), 13 soldiers were killed and 20 injured during the battle. It said the LTTE had launched a mortar attack in Welioya on Monday. It said the security forces retaliated "causing damage" to the LTTE. The LTTE in a statement on the E.U. parliamentary public hearing at Brussels on June 5 on post-tsunami reconstruction and human rights situation said, "A public hearing like this on post-tsunami evaluation along with assessments of human rights record and humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka without the participation of Tamil representatives could not be a useful and comprehensive exercise."

Separately, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the killing of two Sri Lankan Red Cross employees over the weekend. The police claimed that they had vital clues on the culprits.

Mr. Ban demanded that the police thoroughly investigate the incident. He reminded the Government of its obligation to investigate the murders of 17 Action Contre la Faim aid workers 10 months ago, according to a statement released by his spokesperson. Mr. Ban has spoken out repeatedly this year against the intensifying violence.

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