Sri Lanka signals shift in war on Tamil Tigers

by Amal Jayasinghe

Sri Lanka's President signalled a shift in the war against the Tamil Tigers, saying he did not want to push his troops into rebel-held territory to defeat the guerrillas.

President Mahinda Rajapakse also said Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) may not have been behind a string of recent bombings on the island, and pointed at the possible involvement of political and business interests.

"We will hit if we are hit," the president said of his military strategy.

"The recent operations in the north are not aimed at advancing... I don't believe in a military solution," he told reporters.

The remarks were in sharp contrast to statements from the island's military and even the president's brother -- defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse -- who have stated their intention to seize the rebels' mini-state in the north and eliminate the guerrilla leadership.

The government had also earlier this month pulled out of a tattered Norwegian-brokered truce with the rebels, underscoring its sentiment that it has the upper hand in the long-running conflict.

Furthermore, the defence ministry has justified the decision to return to open war by pointing to a string of bomb attacks in and around Colombo and the south of the island -- which have claimed the lives of dozens of civilians and a government minister since the start of the year.

But the president said "other groups" may be at work in the conflict -- pointing to two blasts in Colombo that did not appear to be the work of the rebels.

"It is not like the LTTE to set off bombs to cause only a huge sound and no casualties," the president said.

"Why should they risk their men to plant these 'dumb bombs' when they are used to causing huge casualties."

Two people were slightly hurt in the two blasts. One bomb was inside a high security zone and the other was at an isolated railway platform here. Unlike the rebels' trademark mine attacks, there were no pellets packed into the bombs.

"We have to face it. The idea of these attacks is to create panic and give the impression that Colombo is not safe... It is clear that these are not LTTE bombs. This is what I believe. We are investigating," he said.

"There could be more incidents like this in Colombo and (the adjoining district of) Gampaha," the president warned, without giving further details.

The president's comments, however, came as fighting continued to rage in the north -- with security forces reporting 46 people killed, most of them rebels.

Since the start of this month, the Sri Lanka defence ministry has claimed it has killed 592 rebels against just 26 soldiers dead.

The military's death toll claims cannot be independently verified.

Source: AFP