Sri Lankan defense officials said Tamil Tiger rebels in war-torn
northern and eastern areas were bombed on Saturday.
Group Captain Ajantha Silva of the Sri Lanka Air Force said the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)-held Pudukuduiruppu and
Mullaitivu in the north were bombed with Israeli-built Kfir
jets.
Silva said rebel gun positions in Vakarai in the east were
completely destroyed by the air raids carried out around 9:30 AM
local time (04:00 GMT).
The LTTE has been attacking the military from Vakarai using
mortar and artillery fire and the rebels faced accusations of using
refugees as human shields in the attacks.
The LTTE countered by charging that the government troops are
out to flush out the minority Tamils from Vakarai and had imposed a
blockade of essential food and medicine to the regions.
There have been many civilian deaths in attacks blamed on both
sides in Vakarai and the international community has appealed to
both sides to spare civilians from attacks.
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Defense officials say that some 30,000 civilians have fled Vakarai
to find refuge in government-controlled areas.
The violence in the north and east since December 2005 have
already cost over 3,500 lives, seriously jeopardizing the
Norwegian-backed peace process.
(Xinhua News Agency December 31, 2006)
