A mine attack in northern Sri Lanka has killed at least seven soldiers, the military says. The troops were patrolling near Jaffna town, 300km (185 miles) from Colombo, when two devices exploded, police said. The blast is the second since Sunday, when Tamil Tiger rebels were blamed for one nearby in which seven troops died. Tuesday's attack came as Sri Lanka's new army chief vowed to take on terrorism. The rebels are breaching a truce, the government says. The BBC's Dumeetha Luthra in Jaffna says the mood in the town is tense and more troops have been deployed amid fears war may return. In the island's east, at least three breakaway rebels were killed in what appeared to be part of a continuing internal feud, military officials said. Tuesday's attack near a Hindu temple on Jaffna's outskirts brings to 17 the number of soldiers the army says have been killed in the north since Friday. "The troops had been on a foot patrol clearing the road and they were returning in a tractor when they were ambushed," said Defence Ministry spokesman Brigadier Nalin Witharanage. Three Swiss nationals passing in a car were also injured. Brig Witharanage said initial investigations suggested a remote-controlled claymore mine had been used in the attack. Claymore mines carry a small charge packed behind hundreds of steel balls which shoot forward on detonation.
The Tamil Tigers have denied having anything to do with Tuesday's attack. "We are not involved. We are not going to break the ceasefire agreement," rebel spokesman Daya Master told Reuters.
| "Wasn't us. Musta been some other rebel group. Have you checked for Samoans?" |
In Colombo, new army commander Lt-Gen Sarath Fonseka's first press conference was delayed as news of the blast broke. "We don't have 100% evidence, but we think they [the rebels] did it," he told reporters. "If they did not do it, who else could have done it? "We are ready for any situation... we have not dropped our guard." But he said he wanted the two sides to talk to "ensure the peace process does not collapse".
| Yeah, won't do to stop that Peace Processor |
There has been no direct contact between the army and the rebels for several months. What would have been the first meeting since hardliner Mahinda Rajapakse was elected Sri Lankan president last month failed to take place on Monday.
Violence over the last few days is the worst since a ceasefire was agreed between the government and the rebels in February 2002, truce monitors say. The United States has added its voice to the chorus of concern, blaming the rebels for Sunday's mine attack. A statement called on both sides "to take immediate action to prevent violence and to uphold the terms of the ceasefire agreement".
Tensions have been rising since Mr Rajapakse was elected. He has ruled out a separate homeland for minority Tamils in the north and east and wants to renegotiate the truce which ended more than 20 years of civil war in which more than 60,000 people died. The Tamil Tigers are demanding a political settlement next year - or they say they will step up their struggle.