SRI LANKA: Truce monitors say Tamil Tiger rebels have overrun army bunkers in far north; military says rebels are pushing country to war

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels broke through military defences in the island's far north and overran army bunkers on Saturday (August 12), truce monitors said, as the fiercest fighting since a 2002 truce spread. The Tigers and army exchanged intense artillery fire and government jets bombed near the rebels' forward defence lines in the northern Jaffna peninsula, residents said, as thousands of civilians fled to churches. The military said 27 of its personnel were killed and 80 injured, and estimated it killed more than 150 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels. It said it sank five Sea Tiger boats as they attacked army posts on the shore in Jaffna. Defence Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told a news conference the LTTE was pushing the country to war. "They have definitely intensified the terrorist activities. And it is intensified to such an extent that it appears to be that they are on a full scale confrontation," he said. "While the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) is pushing the whole country to a war and suffering to their own people, the government is trying to work out a formula in order to meet the aspirations of the minorities while understanding, while recognising that there is a terrorist problem." Military spokesman Brigadier Athula Jayawardene told the news conference the army was totally in control of the areas it was in. "We are ready for any other action by the terrorists tonight," he said. Analysts said they suspected the Tigers were trying to divert pressure from their fighters battling in the east and disrupt military supply lines to the north. The unarmed Nordic Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) said the Tigers had overrun five bunkers inside the army forward defence lines, and had landed troops on an island west of Jaffna and engaged the navy. Around 40,000 troops are stationed in Jaffna, which is cut off from the rest of the island by rebel territory. Chief truce monitor Major-General Ulf Henricsson said he was interpreting the rebel action as an attempt to cut off the line of the security forces in Jaffna. "The ceasefire agreement is definitely not on just now in these areas. There is no respect at all, they just don't care about it -- both parties," he said. As civilians from coastal villages sought refuge, foreigners headed to a UN compound after being warned to leave immediately. In the east of the island, the Tigers rained artillery on the strategic port of Trincomalee, a vital maritime army supply line to Jaffna, before dawn. The military said there was some damage, but gave no details. Sri Lanka's Tamils consider Jaffna their cultural homeland, and analysts say the Tigers are intent on recapturing it. The military accused the Tigers of provoking the northern confrontation and the government has said it will not halt operations until it controls a disputed waterway in the east and an irrigation reservoir that feeds it. This was the issue that sparked the fighting 18 days ago. The Tigers insist the land is theirs and say continued army attacks are effectively a declaration of war. The Tigers have long demanded a separate homeland for ethnic Tamils in the north and east of Sri Lanka but President Mahinda Rajapakse has ruled this out. The rebels say any return to stalled peace talks is a distant prospect.

ITN Source | August 13, 2006