Sri Lanka said today it had carried out more air strikes on Tamil Tiger guerrilla positions to pre-empt a possible rebel attack on the northern city of Jaffna.
The bombing raids, which lasted till dusk yesterday, targetted bases of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Pooneryn, part of a swathe of rebel-controlled territory that separates the Jaffna peninsula from the rest of the island,
The air force flew several missions, causing very heavy destruction to the LTTE, though the exact extent of the damage is not yet known, said military spokesman Brigadier Sanath Karunaratne.
On Saturday Sri Lanka called off a two-month self-declared moratorium on air attacks, accusing the rebels of preparing for a major assault on Jaffna by building up troops and equipment at Pooneryn, separated from Jaffna town by a four-km (2.4-mile) stretch of sea.
Saturday's raids were the first since early April when the rebels demanded an end to air strikes as a condition for talks with the government.
A Norwegian-brokered peace bid is stalled as the two sides haggle over conditions for negotiations to end a conflict in which some 64,000 people have been killed.