Sri Lanka votes, 9 soldiers, 25 rebels killed in north

Nine soldiers and at least 25 Tamil rebels were killed in clashes in northern Sir Lanka as the country's eastern region held its first elections in 14 years, a military spokesman said. The clashes in the north on Sunday were reported as one civilian was killed and six were injured when a parcel bomb exploded in Sri Lanka's capital Monday.

The bomb, placed inside a flowerbed in the centre of main Wellawatte road, 6 kilometres south of Colombo city centre, went off opposite a boy's school.

"We believe that the terrorist (rebels) set up the bomb targeting civilians," military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.

The four injured are school children.

Nine soldiers and the 25 rebels were killed in four separate incidents in northern Wanni district on Sunday.

In the east, where elections are being held for the first time in 14 years after the area was brought back under control of the security forces from the rebels a year ago, some 40 per cent of the voters had turned up by noon.

Ahead of the polling a Muslim candidate's house came under a grenade attack, injuring a police officer guarding the house in Valachchenai, Batticaloa, 240 kilometres north of the capital.

But, local election monitors said no serious incidents were reported from the area where the polls are on with the presence of a heavy police and army contingent.

The elections were being held for nine local councils, including the Batticaloa municipal council, and 270,471 voters were eligible to cast ballots.

A break-away faction of the Tamil rebels was the main group contesting the elections while its main rivals are three former militant groups who were contesting as an independent group.

For the Batticaloa municipal council the break-away group of the rebels, known as the Pilliyan group, was contesting under the country's ruling party's name - the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA).

Rivals have accused the Pilliyan group for carrying out abductions and extorting money, allegations denied by the party.

Journalists who have visited the area have confirmed reports that the group has been abducting residents, intimidated voters and extorted money.

The elections are seen as a boost to the image of the government, which has declared its intention to recapture rebel-controlled areas and hand over power to the people in the area.

Military operations are in progress in the north to recapture rebel-controlled areas, but progress in the north has been slow with both rebels and security forces suffering casualties.

The rebels stepped up their attacks on security forces three weeks after the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected to power in November 2005 and five months later the government also stepped up operations, effectively bringing an end to a Norwegian-backed cease-fire which came into operation in February 2002.

Source: earthtimes.org