Sri Lanka Tigers say resisting military onslaught

Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels said Thursday they were resisting a major military thrust into their territory and said they had killed at least 25 government troops in two days of fighting.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they pushed back security forces from the Catholic pilgrim area of Madhu in the coastal district of Mannar, where heavy fighting has raged in recent weeks.

“The Sri Lanka army adamantly initiated several clashes within 1,500 metres of the church premises,” a statement said. “The LTTE defenders successfully repelled the Sri Lanka army offenders.”

The separatists added that more than 90 soldiers had been wounded, placing their own losses at one killed and three hurt over the two days.

The LTTE statement came as the military said they killed 75 rebels for the loss of three soldiers in Mannar, Vavuniya and Weli Oya on Wednesday and Tuesday.

The latest defence ministry casualty claims bring to at least 2,595 the number of rebels said to have been killed by security forces since January.

The ministry has reported losing 154 soldiers in the same period.

The figures given by both sides in the decades-old ethnic conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives cannot be independently confirmed as journalists and rights groups are barred from front-line areas.

Source: khaleejtimes.com