- Title: SRI LANKA: Sri Lankan civilians caught in fighting between military and rebels
- Date: 3rd August 2006
- Summary: (W2) TRINCOMALEE, SRI LANKA (AUGUST 2, 2006) (REUTERS) WIDE OF HARBOUR BOAT MOORED WIDE OF BOAT SAILING THROUGH HARBOUR
- Embargoed: 18th August 2006 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Sri Lanka
- Country: Sri Lanka
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA5I4DS5MVXMBYWWM77BJCWTVJQ
- Story Text: Artillery fire killed at least 15 civilians sheltering from fighting in northeast Sri Lanka on Thursday (August 3), the army said, as troops battled Tamil Tiger rebels and the island slipped back toward civil war.
More than 800 people have died this year and ambushes, air strikes and naval clashes have again become commonplace. What started as a dispute over a rebel-held water supply has led to the first major ground fighting since a 2002 ceasefire agreement.
The centre of fighting on Thursday appeared to be the government-held and mainly Muslim town of Mutur, just south of Trincomalee harbour.
The army said it had largely flushed out pockets of rebel resistance by early afternoon. The military said 10 civilians were killed when a shell fell near a college housing displaced. Five more were killed when another Muslim school was hit.
The Tigers said the shells had been fired by the army. Residents said both sides had shelled the town.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels moved into Mutur on Wednesday (August 2). The violence has led to civilian casualties and caused thousands to flee their villages
"When the firing started, I grabbed my child and ran. We were scared for the children. The men stayed back to look after the houses. You can hear the firing even now," refugee R. Vasanthi, a mother three, said in Trincomalee on Wednesday.
Refugees have taken shelter in schools and religious centres until the fighting eases.
"Firing started at 2.30 in the morning. We left the village at that time. I went back home in the morning to cook food for my children I am waiting for my husband to come back from work. I hope he is safe," said Vijekumari, a mother of two.
Trincomalee contains all three of Sri Lanka's main ethnic groups: Sinhalese; Tamils; and Muslims.
"The LTTE (Tamil Tigers) attacked the navy and the navy retaliated. In the firing our village caught fire. We couldn't stay at home so we left every thing grab the children and ran here" said Soma Vithana.
Both sides say they want peace, but diplomats fear the truce may become irrelevant and a two-decade civil war that has killed more than 65,000 people will resume.
Death tolls are difficult to verify. In the fighting south of Trincomalee, the military says it has killed more than 70 rebels for the loss of only a handful of troops. Diplomats say both sides are understating their losses and exaggerating those of the enemy.
The main military advance to reopen a single Tiger-held sluice gate south of Mutur and restore water to 50,000 people that began the recent escalation seems to have all but halted amid minefields and mortar fire.
Overall, diplomats say the government may have bitten off more than it can chew in launching an offensive, and the Tigers, whose ultimate goal is a homeland for minority Tamils in the north and east, have been seen as doing better than expected.
The government says it is willing to discuss what the rebels want if they are willing to sit down. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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