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Change Your Life! |
Tamil Tiger rebels march toward Jaffna in Srilanka |
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May 2, 2000 COLOMBO, MAY 1 (AP) - Tamil Tiger rebels overran another town in their march toward their former capital, Jaffna, worrying some of the half a million residents who see life again being disrupted.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, said in a statement from their London office that they took over Pallai, a town located between the recently captured Elephant Pass and Jaffna.
With the capture of Pallai on Sunday, the rebels are now 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of Jaffna.
After first denying the rebel claim, the Defense Ministry admitted it lost Pallai but said troops were holding on around a main defense line to the north.
Jaffna has been under government rule for the last five years. Although many Tamils back the rebel quest for a homeland for them, many also have been siding with the government after living conditions improved in Jaffna with military rule.
If Jaffna comes under rebel assault or occupation, those who wish to leave the city can do so only sea or air - the rebels control the land route to the south.
Ships in the area can be targeted by rebel artillery. There are not enough aircraft to evacuate so many people. The city's only airport can also be targeted by artillery if the rebels advance.
"There is tremendous uncertainty among the people here as they fear that coming days are going to be very bad," said a source in an international relief agency who spoke on condition of anonymity. In the past week, food prices have risen 50 to 100 percent, the source said.
The military said 14 officers and soldiers were killed, 222 others were wounded in Sunday's battle. It said the rebels suffered heavy casualties, but did not give a figure.
The guerrillas have been fighting since 1983 to carve out Eelam, a homeland where they say the nation's minority Tamils will not be discriminated by the Sinhalese majority.
In December 1995, troops drove the rebels out of Jaffna into the nearby jungles. In the last six months, the rebels stepped up their effort to capture Jaffna. Last week, they seized the strategic Elephant Pass that links Jaffna and the mainland.
The LTTE said Pallai fell "after 12 hours of ferocious fighting" when " the special commando units of the LTTE backed by heavy artillery and mortar bombardment launched a multi-pronged attack."
"Fighters have amassed a huge quantity of arms and ammunition from the Pallai military base. With the fall of Pallai town, the Liberation Tigers have secured a strongly entrenched foothold in ... the peninsula facilitating their advance towards the capital of Jaffna," it said.
Independent confirmation of the claim was not possible was not possible as journalists are barred from the war front and telephone links to the area have been cut.
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