SRI LANKA: Sri Lanka's military launched further air and artillery strikes on Tamil Tiger targets in the island's northeast yesterday, with thousands fleeing their homes a day after a suicide attack damaged an already-fragile ceasefire.
Military spokesman Brig Prasad Samarasinghe said the latest strikes came after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fired at the military near the northeastern port of Trincomalee. By night, the army said the island was quiet.
The rebels said they would retaliate if the government continued the attacks, launched after a suspected Tiger suicide blast in the capital on Tuesday killed 10 and wounded the army commander.
"It is like a war situation in Trincomalee. If the attacks continue, the LTTE will be forced to take military defensive action," said S Puleedevan, head of the Tigers' peace secretariat, as rebel positions were hit.
The strikes were the first official military action since a 2002 ceasefire halted the two-decades-old civil war and raised hopes of a lasting peace. They followed suspected Tiger attacks on the military and ethnic riots against Tamils.
The army said it had closed borders with rebel territory. Some aid workers helping rebuild after the 2004 tsunami said they were evacuating from the north and east. UN agencies stayed where they were, but cancelled transport.
Tiger northeastern political leader S Elilan said shelling had ceased late in the morning. At least 10 bodies had been recovered and 25 people were injured, he said. A rebel website showed photographs of battered bodies and homes.
The army said three civilians were killed when the Tigers fired mortars back into government territory. The government said the strikes would last as long as the Tigers kept up attacks.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative Amin Awad said he believed thousands had fled their homes, although some reports said tens of thousands. Until aid agencies got access, it would be hard to say, he added.
Colombo's stock market ended down more than 4 per cent yesterday as investors feared return to full-scale war.
Mediator Norway, due to host a weekend meeting of Sri Lanka's other key donors the EU, US and Japan, said both sides told them they wanted talks to happen.