Fighting worsens in Lanka: 13 killed
Tigers blame troops for killing 50 civilians
Ap, Colombo
The Sri Lankan military attacked Tamil Tiger rebels from land and air yesterday, and the rebels retaliated in heavy fighting that killed at least 13 combatants, officials said. A Nordic cease-fire monitor warned that the situation was worsening. A senior rebel official, Seevarathnam Puleedevan, said at least 50 civilians had been killed and 200 injured in the government military operation, but a military spokesman said he was unaware of any civilian casualties. Puleedevan appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross to help evacuate civilian casualties, saying there weren't enough facilities locally available there to treat them. But ICRC official Davide Vignati said the organization had yet to receive an official request from either side. At least six government soldiers were killed and 49 wounded and admitted to hospital, a doctor said. A Tiger spokesman, Rasiah Ilanthirayan, said seven rebels had died and 15 others were wounded. "It is a warlike situation, our forces are retaliating with artillery fire and direct gun fire," Ilanthirayan said. "The situation is worsening," said Robert Nilsson, a member of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission. "Hopefully there will be a change of heart, this has already gone too far." The fighting cantered around a key reservoir and canal in Trincomalee district, which in recent weeks has seen some of the worst fighting since the country's 2002 cease-fire, with estimates of the number of combatants and civilians killed ranging from about 100 to 300. Dr. BGM Costa, a hospital doctor in Kantale, a town in the area, said the bodies of five soldiers had been brought in and 35 others were wounded. Two with critical injuries were flown to Colombo. Military spokesman Maj. Upali Rajapakse said he was not aware of any civilian casualties, but said the rebels were "known for using civilians as human shields and they place their gun positions around civilian villages." "The Sri Lankan army does not target civilians," he said. The rebels closed sluice gates at the reservoir on July 20, cutting water to over 60,000 people living in government-controlled villages, after accusing the government of reneging on a pledge to boost water in rebel-held areas. The rebels announced on Tuesday that they were reopening the gates, saying that heavy attacks on rebel areas by army troops were hurting civilians, and the military said Wednesday that it had reclaimed control of the waterway. But the government resumed shelling the area around the reservoir the same day, saying it needed to clear the area of rebels so they would not be able to block the water supply again.
| 
