Update: Fighting claims 45 rebels, 16 soldiers in Lanka

Heavy fighting in northern Sri Lanka resulted in the deaths of at least 45 Tamil rebels and 16 soldiers in the past two days, military officials said on Tuesday.

Most of the combat was reported in the north-western district of Mannar, but fighting was also reported in the Vavuniya and Welioya areas, about 300 kilometres north-east of the capital.

In a clash Monday at Andankulam in Mannar district, 10 soldiers were killed and 21 injured while 13 rebels died, the military said.

The military claimed the rebels fired a barrage of artillery into the Thaladi area of Mannar district, destroying a Catholic church and killing six soldiers who were assisting a priest to clear the premises.

The military said that three Catholic priests who met the ground commanders in the area had requested the assistance of the army to evacuate the location and the attack was carried out while the clearing was going on.

But the pro-rebel Tamilnet web site said that the army had mounted an artillery barrage simultaneously from all of its camps in Mannar and the rebels retaliated, killing six soldiers and wounding 10 others, but did not say that the incident took place near a church. There was no independent confirmation of the rebel or government claims.

The military said that a total of 45 rebels were killed in combat since Monday morning.

The government has stepped up military operations in the north after vowing to crush the rebels by the end of the year.

Guerrillas also have carried out bomb attacks on civilian targets in at least four different locations in the south as well as the north-east. They targeted three public transport buses and a railway station, killing more than 70 civilians and injuring over 150.

The government on January 16 formally withdrew from a Norwegian-brokered ceasefire with the main Tamil rebel group.

Source: http://www.khaleejtimes.com