COLOMBO, March 16: Renewed mortar attacks were reported in northern Sri Lanka on Monday after two days of heavy fighting between government troops and Tamil rebels killed at least 39 people, officials said.The separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) kept up mortar bomb and artillery attacks which they began on Saturday to stall a military advance towards the rebel-held town of Mankulam, officials said.
They said seven more soldiers were killed in overnight fighting, raising the toll to 21. However, the LTTE's clandestine radio said they lost only four fighters while resisting the three-pronged military push on Mankulam, the final major town along a highway the Army is battling to capture.
Helicopters, gun ships and tanks were called in to pound suspected Tiger positions just North of Mankulam in a bid to ease the pressure on government soldiers under intense attack.
Defence sources said nearly 120 soldiers were wounded in mortar attacks. Most of the victims had minor injuries but abouthalf of them had to be hospitalised.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
