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| Sri Lanka |
| Heavy fighting as Sri Lanka troops near rebel capital |
| 2008-11-08 |
| Intense battles gripped Sri Lanka's northern Wanni region as government forces stepped up pressure on the Tamil rebel political capital, the defence ministry said on Friday. Scores of rebels were killed and many more wounded in Thursday's fighting west of Mankulam, a key town on the road to the rebel political headquarters at Kilinochchi, further north, the ministry said in a statement. Government forces have been fighting for months to take Kilinochchi, 330 kilometres (just over 200 miles) north of the capital Colombo. Heavy monsoon rains and intense rebel resistance had slowed the military onslaught. President Mahinda Rajapakse, who is also the defence minister, asked the Tigers on Thursday to lay down arms and surrender. "My earnest plea to the terrorist is to lay-down arms and join the democratic process, even at this late stage," the president said while unveiling a war-budget in parliament. "If not, they would be militarily defeated. We have come to a stage in which we believe that we should and we can eradicate terrorism," he said. Rebels killed: Sri Lanka soldiers fought an intense battle with Tamil separatists in the war-torn northern region and later found seven rebel bodies, the military said on Friday. The hours-long fighting erupted on Thursday in the village of Panikkankulam as army troops pushed toward the main highway that cuts through rebel-held territory in the north, a military statement said. The statement said the clashes caused "heavy damage" to the guerrillas, leaving "scores" of rebel fighters dead. Troops found seven rebel bodies after the clashes, along with six assault rifles, it said. |
| Posted by:Fred |