At least 92 Tamil Tiger rebels and three government soldiers died in intense battles for a bunker line in northern Sri Lanka, the defence ministry said Thursday.Government forces destroyed five bunkers held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during fighting on Wednesday afternoon, a ministry statement said. “As per the military reports received from the northern battlefronts, at least 92 terrorists were killed and over 15 suffered injuries during yesterday’s confrontations,” the statement said. “Also, three soldiers were killed in action while another 20 sustained injuries.”
The clashes came hours after suspected rebels struck in the deep south, away from the usual conflict zone, killing three soldiers guarding a highway in Buttala, 350 kilometres (220 miles) from the TigerÂ’s northern de facto state.
Artillery use: Meanwhile, the LTTE issued a statement accusing government forces of using artillery in civilian areas inside rebel-held territory, injuring children and farmers. “Tamil civilians ... are paying dearly for the constant shelling by the Sri Lanka military. Thousands of families have (been) displaced from their homes,” the guerrillas said. According to the defence ministry, some 1,450 rebels have been killed so far this year. The military estimates the rebel strength at 5,000 combatants.
The military said 83 soldiers and police have been killed in 2008. Casualty figures provided by both sides differ wildly and cannot be independently verified since the government bars journalists and human rights workers from frontline and rebel-held areas. The Sri Lankan government last month officially pulled out of a truce with the rebels, who have fought for more than three decades for an independent ethnic homeland in the Sinhalese-majority island.