COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Tamil Tiger rebels and government troops exchanged artillery fire in Sri LankaÂ’s ethnic Tamil heartland on Monday, the military said, a day after talks to salvage a cease-fire and halt more than two decades of conflict ended without a breakthrough.The peace talks in Geneva failed Sunday after the government rejected a Tiger demand to reopen a key highway that connects the Tamil-dominated northern Jaffna peninsula with the rest of the country.
The rebels opened fire late Sunday, wounding five soldiers, then the artillery fire began, focused on an entry point to the blocked highway, a military spokesman said. They fired at our positions and we fired back,Â’ said Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe.
Rebel spokesman Daya Master accused the military of starting the exchange, but had no comment on MondayÂ’s skirmishes.