 |
|
|
According to the military, a Tamil Tiger camp located in the
north territory held by rebels were bombed by Sri Lankan fighter jets on
Thursday. Also another 50 rebels were killed in the clashes on Wednesday.
There weren’t any details regarding the casualties from the
air attack on Thursday which was called ‘Radha Base’ by the military in the village of Teravikulam, located in the northeastern
district of Mullaittivu.
Air Force spokesman Wing Commander Andrew Wijesuriya said: "We
would term it as a military base. They use it as a lodging base for their
fighting cadres. Pilots have confirmed the targets they have taken, the buildings,
were completely destroyed," Reuters reports.
The fighting has intensified since last month the government
dropped the six-year ceasefire. The government is thinking that the truce was
an excuse used by the rebels to re-arm.
The LTTE are saying that they are fighting for Sri Lanka’s
minority Tamil population, who they say is being persecuted by the majority
Buddhist Sinhalese. About 20 percent of the 20 million people in Sri Lanka
are Tamil.
The defense ministry says that until now over 1,100 rebels
have been killed and 80 soldiers have died since the beginning of the year.
Because of the violence, investments and tourist arrivals in
the country are on hold now.
According to the military, 50 rebels died during clashes in the
northern districts of Vavuniya and Polonnaruwa and the northwestern district of
Mannar.
Earlier the military declared that a rebel mine exploded in
Vavuniya on Wednesday killing two soldiers and injuring six others.
Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said: "The
pressure we are applying will be continued. Our operations against them will
continue to impose maximum casualties to the LTTE and regain LTTE-held
areas."
Ever since the Tigers started a campaign in 1972 to form an
independent state in the north and east of the country, almost 70,000 people
have died.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said that 180
civilians were killed and 270 others were injured this year alone in bombings which
occurred on buses, train stations and in the streets.
© 2007 - 2008 - eFluxMedia