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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Sri Lanka clashes kill 28 troops | Sri Lanka clashes kill 28 troops |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Twenty-eight soldiers have been killed and more than 100 wounded during an advance on Tamil Tiger positions, the Sri Lankan army says. | Twenty-eight soldiers have been killed and more than 100 wounded during an advance on Tamil Tiger positions, the Sri Lankan army says. |
| An army official said up to 130 rebels may have been killed, although this was denied by the Tamil Tigers. | |
| The latest clashes broke out in the Muhamalai area of northern Jaffna peninsula on Thursday. | |
| The government accuses the rebels of starting the fighting by attacking their frontline positions. | |
| Government troops have been attempting to take rebel bunker positions, backed up by artillery and air strikes. | |
| A spokesman said they had advanced 600m (1,980ft) since Thursday. | |
| But Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) officials have denied any advance. | |
| Air strikes | |
| Army spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said the rebels attacked troops' frontline positions on Thursday with artillery fire. "We have been retaliating since then," he said. | |
| He called the advance towards rebel strongholds "a limited operation to neutralise their artillery bases". | |
| Troops were now consolidating their position, he told Reuters news agency. "We have suffered 28 killed and 119 injured," he added. | |
| He said sources indicated 130 rebels had been killed, but the Tamil Tigers say they have suffered only a handful of casualties. | |
| Rebel spokesman Seevarathnam Puleedevan said six fighters had died in the past three days and 13 others had been wounded. | |
| He also denied the Tigers' bunkers had been overrun and said his cadres continued to resist army troops, the Associated Press reports. | |
| Renewed fighting in Sri Lanka's 20 year civil war began in late July with air strikes on rebel territory amid a dispute over a blocked water supply. | Renewed fighting in Sri Lanka's 20 year civil war began in late July with air strikes on rebel territory amid a dispute over a blocked water supply. |
| A 2002 ceasefire between the government and rebels still technically holds, although both sides accuse the other of trying to force a full-scale return to war. | A 2002 ceasefire between the government and rebels still technically holds, although both sides accuse the other of trying to force a full-scale return to war. |
| The fighting has effectively cut access by road to and from the Jaffna peninsula, leaving thousands of people trapped and running short of vital supplies. | |
| Ships have been sent by the government and aid agencies to bring supplies to the area and evacuate civilians. | |