Heavy fighting kills dozens in Sri Lanka, says military

12 Feb 2008 08:02 - Staff Reporter

Heavy fighting in northern Sri Lanka has left at least 11 government soldiers and 42 Tamil Tiger rebels dead, defence officials said on Tuesday. The clashes between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the Weli Oya area on Monday also left 35 security personnel and 21 rebels wounded, a defence official said.

Heavy fighting in northern Sri Lanka has left at least 11 government soldiers and 42 Tamil Tiger rebels dead, defence officials said on Tuesday.

The clashes between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the Weli Oya area on Monday also left 35 security personnel and 21 rebels wounded, a defence official said.

According to the Defence Ministry’s latest tally, 1 168 rebels and 62 government soldiers and police have been killed so far this year.

Casualty figures given by the government or the LTTE cannot be independently verified as journalists and human rights workers are not allowed to enter the battle zone.

The Sri Lankan government last month officially pulled out of a defunct truce with the rebels, who have fought for more than three decades for an independent ethnic homeland in the Sinhalese-majority island.

The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives.—AFP

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