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| Sri Lanka | |
| LTTE claims killing of 52 soldiers | |
| 2008-10-09 | |
| Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers yesterday said they were beating back an army advance into their northern territory and had killed 52 soldiers, though the claims were disputed by the government. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) also said 50 soldiers were wounded in Tuesday's heavy fighting across several fronts in the Kilinochchi district, the pro-rebel Tamilnet website reported. It did not give rebel losses but said the guerrillas had seized arms and ammunition from the military. The defence ministry, however, said troops killed 31 rebels while losing only two soldiers in fighting around Kilinochchi on Tuesday. The ministry said eight other rebels were killed in clashes across other northern fronts. Casualty figures from either side cannot be verified as the defence ministry blocks independent journalists from travelling to the frontlines. Some 7,258 rebels have been killed by troops since Sri Lanka pulled out of a Norwegian-brokered truce in January, while 707 soldiers have died in the same period. Meanwhile, India criticised Sri Lanka in a rare intervention into the island's internal affairs, saying civilian deaths during a military offensive against Tamil rebels were a cause of grave concern. India's National Security Advisor MK Narayanan summoned Sri Lanka's representative in New Delhi on Monday to convey strong reservations about the intensifying military onslaught against Tamil separatists, officials said. The 80 million population of India's southern Tamil Nadu state share cultural and emotional links with minority Tamils in Sri Lanka. Narayanan said that "the escalation of hostilities in the north and the resultant fall out was leading to a great deal of concern in India," an Indian foreign ministry statement said. Sri Lanka must "act with greater restraint and address the growing feeling of insecurity among the minority community," it said. India directly intervened in the Sri Lankan conflict in 1987 by sending troops to supervise a bilateral peace pact, but the soldiers ended up fighting Tamil Tigers. New Delhi withdrew its troops three years later after losing 1,200 soldiers. Since then, India has maintained a hands-off policy towards Sri Lanka.
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| Posted by:Fred |