The war between Sri Lankan authorities and the Tamil Tigers continued, as 39 rebels were killed on Sunday in an air force bomb attack, which account for less than half of the total number of deaths over the weekend. The clash between the two sides took place in the northern part of the Jaffna peninsula, in a 2-hour continuous artillery fire.

The fighting reportedly covered the northern districts of Vavuniya and Polonnaruwa and the north-western district if Mannar, and left at least 15 Sri Lankan soldiers dead and 30 wounded, rebels said, but the government officials denied such casualties existed and said only rebels were killed, which raised the number of guerrillas killed over the weekend to 82.

Official statements of the Sri Lankan government stated that a number of 748 rebels were killed in the past month since the truce between them and the Tamil Tigers formally ended. The ceasefire agreement was signed in 2006, but Sri Lanka knew no peace period ever since, as violent encounters between the two sides continued.

The Tamil Tigers continued to carry on with their attacks and even attempted to assassinate the commander of the Sri Lankan Army, Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka in the spring of 2006. Consequently to the rebels’ act, the governmental air forces started attacking the Tiger’s position, and no agreement became possible ever since.

The conflict that started decades ago already made 70,000 victims, including civilians who were not directly involved in the conflict. Non-military attacks over trains, buses, temples or mosques made thousands of deaths over the years, which didn’t concern the rebels that much, as they consider civilians to be simply collateral damage.

The Tigers are currently controlling a territory in the north part of the island and continue a fight for independence, despite the government’s opposition. Several ceasefire attempts were made, but none of them came to a positive outcome, as the rebels continued the attacks and the fights continue to intensify.