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| Sri Lanka |
| 5 Tamil rebels killed, 4 soldiers wounded in Sri Lankan clashes |
| 2007-10-07 |
| Five ethnic Tamil separatist rebels including a regional leader were killed in clashes with government troops across Sri LankaÂ’s volatile north, the military said Saturday. Clashes occurred Friday across the de facto border that separates government-controlled areas and the Tamil TigersÂ’ northern mini-state, the Defense MinistryÂ’s information center said. Two rebels were killed in fighting in Periyathampanai, Vilathikulam and Navatkulam villages in northern Vavuniya district, an official said on condition of anonymity, citing policy. Four government soldiers were wounded, the official said. Three guerrillas were killed in a clash near northeastern Welioya village, he said, adding a regional rebel leader named Kalaivanan, who like many rebels uses only one name, also died. Bodies swapped: The military said rebels handed over the bodies of an army officer and a soldier who went missing during recent fighting in northern Sri Lanka. Red Cross officials transported the bodies from rebel territory to the de facto border in Omanthai area and handed them to the military, the information center said. Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan was unavailable for comment. In July, the government declared it had ousted the Tigers from eastern Sri Lanka, though it said some pockets of rebel resistance remained in the jungles. The rebels still control a wide swathe of territory in northern Sri Lanka. The Tigers have been fighting since 1983 to establish an independent state for ethnic minority Tamils in the island nationÂ’s north and east, following decades of discrimination under governments dominated by the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the two-decade conflict. |
| Posted by:Fred |