Sri Lanka will hold large-scale civilian and military independence day celebrations in the capital despite fears of Tamil rebel attacks and a sharp escalation in fighting, officials said Sunday.
Security will be increased further for the 60th Freedom Day celebrations on February 4, with 4,100 extra troops bolstering thousands of police and soldiers already deployed here, public administration minister Karu Jayasuriya said.
"Cultural and sporting events will also be held in addition to the main event in Colombo," Jayasuriya said, adding that armed forces would provide major security support.
Heavy fighting raged in the north of the island Sunday with security forces smashing a line of bunkers of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the defence ministry said.
It said eight guerrillas and a soldier were killed in Sunday morning clashes and raised to 67 the number of rebels killed in confrontations over the weekend, according to military estimates.
Two government soldiers were killed and a handful wounded during the weekend, according to the latest defence ministry statements.
The latest figures raised the death toll since the start of the year to 505 rebels and 22 soldiers. The figures cannot be independently checked as no journalists or rights groups have access to the embattled areas.
The fighting came after the military accused the Tigers of killing at least 10 civilians late Thursday in the relatively calm south.
President Mahinda Rajapakse attended the funeral in the deep south of the island and met with the bereaved families, his office said.
Both the LTTE and the largely ethnic-Sinhalese armed forces have been accused of killing civilians during the decades-old ethnic war, which has left tens of thousands of people dead.
The extra security measures in and around Colombo follow the collapse this month of a moribund 2002 truce between the government and the Tigers and a surge in fighting in northern areas of the country.
The guerrillas run a de facto state in the north of the island and the military has vowed to dismantle it by the end of June this year.
Sri Lanka's military has gained the upper hand with a string of territorial gains in the east of the island last year and appears convinced it can destroy the fighting capability of the rebels who are known for their suicide bombings.
"We are taking maximum precautionary measures against any attack," said a police official in the capital, who declined to be named. "We are getting a large number of home guards (paramilitary police) to assist..."
The main independence day celebration takes place along the sea-front Galle Face promenade and access to the area, which is normally busy with people out for a stroll, was severely restricted on Sunday.
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