S Lanka suspends casualty figures

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The Sri Lankan defence ministry says it is suspending the release of casualty figures during the current fighting in the north of the country.

The move comes after the defence ministry said 33 troops were killed at the weekend, an unusually high figure for the authorities to admit to.

The figures were later denied by another government department

The military is engaged in a major operation to capture the Tamil Tiger's administrative HQ in Kilinochchi town.

Journalists are not allowed access to the fighting in Sri Lanka and casualty figures given by the government and the rebels are viewed with widespread scepticism.

Defence experts say both sides greatly exaggerate their successes.

'Stopping confusion'

In recent months the government has regularly said it has killed more than 20 rebels in the previous day's fighting while admitting much smaller numbers of soldiers dying.

But now such reports are being suspended.

"We took this decision to stop confusion. Recent times, there were instances when different government agencies had given conflicting figures of casualties," the Director General of the Media Centre for National Security, Laxman Hulugalle, told the BBC Sinhala service.

"Casualty figures varied depending on the source. I accept that they are all government sources but they do not always have the same figures. This can be damaging when quoted by the media.

"In a war situation like the one we are in at the moment, it is important to be selective about what can be revealed. In a battle it is important to concentrate on the territory we gained rather than the amount of men we lose," Mr Hulugalle said.

The army is pursuing an offensive to defeat the Tamil Tigers and end their fight for independence for minority Tamils.

Bodies

The BBC's Roland Buerk in Colombo says the military offensive in the north could be slowed by the monsoon rains in the north of the island.

Photographs from the battlefield posted on the ministry of defence website showed vehicles bogged down in heavy mud.

Capturing Kilinochchi would be a major symbolic victory for Sri Lanka's government - the rebels have run a civil administration from offices in the town.

Most residents are reported to have abandoned it for areas further east still under Tamil Tiger control.

Much of the Tigers' military strength is concentrated to the east of the town, towards Mullaitivu on the coast.

The rebels have been fighting for a separate homeland for a quarter of a century and about 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.