Lankan troops kill 34 rebels in fighting
Two days of fighting between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels across Sri Lanka's embattled north have left at least 35 dead on both sides, the defence ministry said yesterday.
Security forces advancing towards rebel defence lines in the Mannar district killed at least 11 guerrillas on Wednesday, the ministry said but did not give its own casualty figures.
Another 23 rebels were shot dead during ground battles across the Jaffna, Vavuniya and Mannar regions on Tuesday, the statement said, adding that one soldier was killed and four hurt.
The military also accused the rebels of shelling a civilian settlement in Weli Oya on Wednesday injuring a 66-year-old man.
There was no immediate comment on the ministry casualty reports from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who have been fighting government troops since 1972 for a separate state for minority Tamils.
However, the LTTE accused the military of shelling a civilian settlement in the north on Wednesday killing a 52-year-old man and critically injuring a 32-year-old woman.
"Two hours of incessant shelling was directed at the civilian settlements and it is lucky that more people were not killed or injured," the LTTE peace secretariat said.
The Tigers also said unidentified gunmen shot dead a Tamil medical student in Jaffna on Tuesday night.
The latest figures raised the number of rebels killed since January to 3,228, according to the defence ministry, which says 234 soldiers have died in the same period.
Casualty figures from both sides vary widely and cannot be independently verified as Colombo bars reporters and rights groups from travelling to the embattled areas.
Tens of thousands have died in the conflict, one of Asia's longest running wars.
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