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| Sri Lanka |
| Sri Lankan troops capture Tiger-held town |
| 2009-01-02 |
| The Sri Lankan military seized a key crossroads in the north from the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels on Thursday after fierce clashes that killed at least 54 fighters, an official said. Capturing the strategic Paranthan junction after 10 years under rebel control is the latest in a series of battle successes for the government, which has vowed to defeat the insurgents this year to end their 25-year separatist campaign. Government officials made the same prediction last year but faced stiff rebel resistance. Military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara said taking control of Paranthan after about six weeks of fighting will open a third front against the guerrillas' de facto capital of Kilinochchi, which is four kilometers to the south. It will also isolate a rebel stronghold at Elephant Pass to the north and allow soldiers to march into northeastern rebel territory, he said. Kilinochchi has eluded the military for months despite top officials' claims of its imminent fall. The military said in a statement Thursday that infantry troops entered Paranthan on Wednesday with air force jet and helicopter support and fought close-range battles for a day to beat back rebel resistance. "Unable to withstand the fury of the combined army and air force onslaught, LTTE terrorists withdrew from the town in total disarray," the statement said using the acronym for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels. Some 50 rebels and four soldiers were killed in the fighting, Nanayakkara said. Soldiers also captured Iranamadu junction on the south of Kilinochchi on Thursday, Nanayakkara said, calling it another boon for the troops fighting to capture the rebel stronghold. He did not give casualty details. The latest government offensives have forced the rebels to abandon territory and retreat into an increasingly shrinking area in the northeast. Rebel officials could not be contacted for comment. It is difficult to verify battle accounts because reporters are barred from the war zone. |
| Posted by:Fred |