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S Lanka attack on rebel 'capital' S Lanka attack on rebel 'capital'
(about 1 hour later)
The Sri Lankan army says an offensive has begun to try to take Kilinochchi, the Tamil Tiger rebels' de facto capital in the north.The Sri Lankan army says an offensive has begun to try to take Kilinochchi, the Tamil Tiger rebels' de facto capital in the north.
Troops have been attacking the rebels' defences from three directions from Sunday morning. Troops have been attacking the rebels' defences from three directions since Sunday morning in heavy rain.
Rebel sources say since Friday at least 78 government troops have been killed. The sides give conflicting casualties. The army says that 27 soldiers have been killed. Rebel sources say at least 78 troops died in weekend fighting.
The government forces are seeking to crush the Tigers and end their fight for a separate state for the ethnic Tamil minority. The army wants to crush efforts by the rebels to win a separate Tamil state.
Leader's speech Correspondents say that both sides have at times been bogged down in knee-deep mud.
Troops advancing from several directions have begun attacking bunker lines around Kilinochchi town, according to the spokesman for Sri Lanka's military, Brig Udaya Nanayakkara. The pro-rebel Tamilnet website says that the latest fighting is continuing amid heavy flooding and rising concern over the plight of thousands of displaced civilians.
He said the Tigers were putting up stiff resistance and both sides had suffered casualties. name="story"> class="bodl" href="#map">See map of the region
Kilinochchi is a key target of the government's offensive to try to crush the rebels, and end their decades-long fight for a separate state for the ethnic Tamil minority. It quotes unnamed rebel sources as saying that 43 soldiers were killed in fighting over the weekend at a strategic junction near Nalloor.
The town has been the Tigers' de facto capital, with political offices, courts, a police headquarters and other administrative buildings. It also said that a "pitched battle" had been fought at the Siva Hindu temple near Kilinochchi.
Its capture would be a major symbolic victory for government forces - but would leave the rebels still in control of territory in the north-east of Sri Lanka around Mullaitivu. Rebels are reportedly putting up stiff resistance around Kilinochchi
The government has refused to comment on the Tamilnet reports, but the army has said that heavy fighting is currently taking place.
"Twenty-seven soldiers have made their ultimate sacrifice for the motherland while 70 others suffered injuries during the battle," a defence ministry statement said.
It said that "intercepted radio transmissions of the Tigers" indicated that they had suffered heavy casualties.
"Over 120 Tamil Tiger cadres have been killed and 80 others injured in the Kilinochchi area since Sunday morning," the ministry said.
Correspondents say that while skirmishes are taking place throughout rebel-held areas of the north, the heaviest fighting is taking place around Kilinochchi.
The town is the Tigers' de facto capital, with political offices, courts, a police headquarters and other administrative buildings.
The BBC's Roland Buerk in Colombo says that its capture would be a major symbolic victory for government forces - but would leave the rebels still in control of territory in the north-east of Sri Lanka around Mullaitivu.
On Thursday the Tigers' leader Velupillai Prabhakaran is due to deliver his only speech of the year as the rebels commemorate their dead.On Thursday the Tigers' leader Velupillai Prabhakaran is due to deliver his only speech of the year as the rebels commemorate their dead.
With communication lines cut to the north, the Tigers have not commented on the military's claims directly. Aid agencies have estimated as many as 230,000 people in rebel-controlled areas have been displaced by the fighting and correspondents say that concern over their welfare is certain to rise as both the fighting and the rainfall gets worse.
But the website TamilNet, which reports from rebel areas, said since Friday at least 78 government soldiers had been killed in battles around Kilinochchi.
It added that heavy rain was increasing the hardship for civilians.
Aid agencies have estimated as many as 230,000 people in rebel controlled areas have been displaced by the fighting.
The rebels have been fighting for a separate homeland for Tamils in the north and east since 1983 and about 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.The rebels have been fighting for a separate homeland for Tamils in the north and east since 1983 and about 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.
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