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Five killed as Sri Lanka offers peace to Tamil rebels
Sri Lankas government vowed on Monday to stamp out Tamil Tigers from swathes of jungle in the islands east after capturing a key stronghold, but said the rebels could avoid more fighting if they agree to peace talks. Sri Lankas government drove out the Tigers from their last coastal enclave in the east on Friday - territory which belonged to the rebels under the terms of a now tattered 2002 ceasefire - after weeks of fierce artillery duels. The governments ultimatum came hours after the military and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) clashed at sea off the islands northern tip and as troops scoured for routed Tigers trying to withdraw to camps in the jungles of Toppigala in the east. Toppigala is a bit of a volatile area, which runs the risk of forces being attacked from time to time, so we will have to eliminate that risk as well, defence spokesman and government minister Kehelia Rambukwella said in a telephone interview. If tomorrow the LTTE says we are ready to stop hostilities and get back to the negotiating table, we will stop immediately, he added. If they do not, then well have to liberate the Tamil civilians in the east and then call (the Tigers) for negotiations. He said the government was not threatening to banish the Tigers from their main northern base, which analysts say would trigger an all-out return to a conflict that has killed more than 67,000 civilians, troops and rebels since 1983. Posted by: Fred 2007-01-23 |
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