Lanka warplanes bomb rebel base
Sri Lankan warplanes bombed a Tamil Tiger base in the northeastern district of Mullaittivu on Wednesday causing heavy damage, the defence ministry said.
The rebel "Sea Tiger" base was being used as a training facility and a key supply route for the guerillas, the ministry said.
There was no immediate comment from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who are fighting for a separate homeland for the island's Tamil minority.
Meanwhile, the Danish Demining Group (DDG), a charity, announced it had suspended operations after one of its staff members was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the northern peninsula of Jaffna on Monday.
"We are re-evaluating the security for our staff and we hope to resume work on September 1," said Steen Wetlesen of the DDG.
The group has been active in Sri Lanka since January 2003 and employs just over 400 people to clear mines in Jaffna and the northeastern district of Trincomalee.
More than 5,200 people have been killed in renewed fighting since December 2005.
Government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels exchanged artillery fire in northern Sri Lanka Tuesday as five people were killed in other violence, military officials and rebels said.
Security forces were firing multi-barrel rocket launchers towards positions of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the Jaffna peninsula, officials said.
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