(RTTNews) - 30 cadres of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam, or LTTE, were killed on Thursday in an intensified attack by the Sri Lankan air force on a rebel hide-out in northern Sri Lanka. A six-year old cease-fire between the government and rebels expired the day before.
The military pounding was a heavy retaliation to the Tamil rebels, whose attack on a passenger bus killed 27 people on Wednesday in Buttala, southeast of the capital Colombo.
The air force jets pounded the hide-out used by top rebel officials near Kilinochi, a stronghold of the LTTE, and destroyed the target, military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said, quoting the pilots. Senior Tamil tiger leaders were gathering at Jayapoor in Kilinochi at the time of the attack, the AFP quoted a defense ministry statement as saying.
Also on Thursday, commandoes destroyed a rebel bunker in Mannar, killing four female cadres of the LTTE, according to Nanayakkara. A rebel fighter committed suicide after giving up a fight with the soldiers in northern Jaffna.
On Wednesday, the Sri Lankan soldiers made a breakthrough by capturing a three-kilometer stretch of road connecting two villages in the northern Mannar district in an effort to take rebel-held territories in Mannar, Nanayakkara said.
Defense officials also reported the deaths of seven rebels in several clashes across the north the previous day.
The escalating fighting between the government forces and Tamil tigers have spurred deep concern from international organizations.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the parties to try to negotiate an end to the conflict.
The European Union condemned the attack on civilians, and reiterated "strong concerns" about the Sri Lankan government's decision to end the cease-fire. In a statement, EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner urged all parties to "comply with their obligations under international law to protect civilians."
Human rights group Amnesty International said it is gravely concerned at the end of ceasefire between the government and rebels.
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