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Rebels in Sri Lanka claim military base captured, 1,000 government troops killed |
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April 24, 2000 COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - Sri Lankan rebels fighting for an independent homeland said they captured a key military complex after a furious two-day battle, and inflicted heavy casualties on government troops.
Military spokesman Brig. Palitha Fernando said he could not confirm or deny the rebels' claim to have seized the vital Elephant Pass base and the adjoining Yakachchi camp. But he admitted the government has made some strategic withdrawal.
"We have adjusted our positions in the area and we are well prepared to defend Jaffna" on the northernmost tip of the island, Fernando said Sunday.
The rebels said 1,000 government soldiers were killed in Saturday's bloody, 48-hour operation to capture the base, but the military said only 49 soldiers and 150 rebels had died.
A military statement issued Saturday said that heavy fighting was continuing and that troops had "readjusted their defense line north of Elephant Pass."
Attempts to reach military and government officials in the northern Jaffna peninsula were not successful. It is not possible independently to verify government and rebel claims since journalists are barred from the battle zone.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are fighting for a homeland for the minority Tamils. The war, which began in 1983, has left more than 62,000 people dead in this island nation. The rebels accuse the majority Sinhalese of discrimination against Tamils in education and jobs, a charge the government denies.
The base allegedly captured by the rebels Saturday guards Elephant Pass, a strategic causeway linking the northern peninsula with the rest of the country. The area got its name from the elephants that once waded across the shallow lagoons in the area.
Since November, the rebels have been trying to seize the Elephant Pass causeway so that they can regain control of their former stronghold, Jaffna, which they lost in 1995. The battle escalated in March, with the rebels capturing small pockets along the 40-kilometer (25-mile) highway.
"The conquest of the Elephant Pass complex, the largest and well-entrenched military base in the north, signified a major victory of the Tigers," the rebels said in a statement from their London office. "The LTTE fighters are now in full control of the Yakachchi-Elephant Pass sector."
The LTTE said its commandos had destroyed several military artillery pieces, tanks, armored vehicles and ammunition dumps. They claimed that government troops had fled with the collapse of the ase and the camp.
The Elephant Pass is 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of the capital, Colombo. Earlier Saturday, the Defense Ministry said in a statement that at least 56 guerrillas were killed during the last two days when they tried to overrun military positions around Elephant Pass. It said two soldiers were killed and 31 wounded.
Government troops also foiled a rebel sea landing during the fierce fighting that began Thursday, the ministry said. The military has so far admitted that the army had only withdrawn from certain areas after losing 32 soldiers in fierce fighting Tuesday.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Friday appointed one of Sri Lanka's most decorated war heroes, Maj. Gen. Janaka Perera, commander of the northern troops. --- On the Net: Rebel Web site: www.eelamweb.com Government Web site:www.priu.gov.lk
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