Tigers accuse troops of killing 39 civilians
UK offers talks to rebels, war planes bomb targets
Afp, reuters, Colombo
Tamil Tiger rebels on Friday accused Sri Lankan security forces of killing 39 civilians and blamed them for the disappearance of 39 others in the last two weeks. The Tamil Tigers said the killings and abductions had occurred during government military attacks in the island's embattled northeast and elsewhere. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said the highest number of killings was in the northern town of Jaffna, where 18 civilians died. Sri Lankan troops and the Tigers have traded attacks in their drawn-out ethnic conflict, with nearly 4,000 people killed in the past year alone, despite a Norwegian-backed February 2002 truce. The charge came as Sri Lanka's air force bombed suspected rebel targets in the Jaffna peninsula, the defence ministry said. Sri Lanka's air force bombed suspected Tamil Tiger rebel targets in the northern Jaffna peninsula on Friday, the defence ministry said. Warplanes pounded the towns of Sorampattu and Palai, destroying mortar positions, the statement said. But the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com said the military targeted civilian settlements in the north in land and aerial attacks. On Thursday warplanes bombed Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) maritime bases in Chenmalai along the northern coast of the island, the defence ministry said. "The Sea Tiger bases were completely destroyed," it added. War planes pounded the towns of Sorampattu and Palai, destroying mortar positions, a day after bombers "completely destroyed" the LTTE's maritime bases in Chenmalai along the northern coast, the defence ministry said. But the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com said the military targeted civilian settlements on Friday in the north in land and aerial attacks. During a visit here earlier this week, Britain's junior foreign minister said he was concerned about renewed violence, abductions, disappearances and extra-judicial killings in the island. Britain on Thursday offered to play a bigger role in Sri Lanka's moribund peace process, including talking directly to Tamil Tiger rebels it has outlawed as terrorists, as part of efforts to end a two-decade civil war. Wrapping up a three-day visit to assess the impact of renewed war on thousands of displaced families in the island's restive east, a senior British envoy said Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse had given the green light to the idea of talks.
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