22 killed in Sri Lanka fighting: military
(NSI News Source Info) COLOMBO August 16, 2008:Twenty-two Tamil rebels have died in fresh ground battles in war-torn northern Sri Lanka as soldiers move closer to the insurgents' political stronghold, the military said on Saturday.Troops on Friday moved nearer the rebels' political capital of Kilinochchi, 330 kilometres (206 miles) north of Colombo, while keeping up pressure on guerrillas in Weli Oya, Vavuniya and Mullaittivu, the military said.A total of 22 rebels died in Friday's fighting while 16 government soldiers were wounded, the defence ministry said in a statement.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who have been fighting for a separate state since 1972, did not comment on the fighting.The latest government figures raised the number of rebels reported killed by government troops to 5,881 since January, while 536 soldiers have died in the same period. Government claims cannot be independently verified.The ministry's statement came a day after London-based rights group Amnesty International warned that tens of thousands of lives in the north were under threat due to heavy fighting between troops and the LTTE.Restrictions on travelling to rebel-held areas had blocked the flow of food and medical supplies, Amnesty said.Government bombardments and artillery shelling since May have forced thousands to flee their homes, mainly in the Kilinochchi and Mullaittivu districts, the group added.UN aid agencies working in conflict-hit areas say 112,000 people have been displaced in the past two months and warn the figure could rise to 200,000 in the coming weeks.Colombo has poured a record 1.5 billion dollars into this year's war efforts and pulled out of a Norwegian-brokered truce with the LTTE, saying it believes soldiers are on track to militarily crush the rebels.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
22 killed in Sri Lanka fighting: military
22 killed in Sri Lanka fighting: military
(NSI News Source Info) COLOMBO August 16, 2008:Twenty-two Tamil rebels have died in fresh ground battles in war-torn northern Sri Lanka as soldiers move closer to the insurgents' political stronghold, the military said on Saturday.Troops on Friday moved nearer the rebels' political capital of Kilinochchi, 330 kilometres (206 miles) north of Colombo, while keeping up pressure on guerrillas in Weli Oya, Vavuniya and Mullaittivu, the military said.A total of 22 rebels died in Friday's fighting while 16 government soldiers were wounded, the defence ministry said in a statement.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who have been fighting for a separate state since 1972, did not comment on the fighting.The latest government figures raised the number of rebels reported killed by government troops to 5,881 since January, while 536 soldiers have died in the same period. Government claims cannot be independently verified.The ministry's statement came a day after London-based rights group Amnesty International warned that tens of thousands of lives in the north were under threat due to heavy fighting between troops and the LTTE.Restrictions on travelling to rebel-held areas had blocked the flow of food and medical supplies, Amnesty said.Government bombardments and artillery shelling since May have forced thousands to flee their homes, mainly in the Kilinochchi and Mullaittivu districts, the group added.UN aid agencies working in conflict-hit areas say 112,000 people have been displaced in the past two months and warn the figure could rise to 200,000 in the coming weeks.Colombo has poured a record 1.5 billion dollars into this year's war efforts and pulled out of a Norwegian-brokered truce with the LTTE, saying it believes soldiers are on track to militarily crush the rebels.
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