COLOMBO, 27 April 2006 — Escalating violence between Sri Lankan forces and Tamil rebels left at least 15 civilians dead and 15,000 Tamil villagers fleeing for their lives, reports from both sides said yesterday.
Three people died and 13 were wounded when the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fired mortar bombs against a naval detachment in the Muttur area of Trincomalee district, Defense Ministry spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said.
He denied earlier military reports which said the civilians were killed when an Israeli-built Kfir jet accidentally dropped a bomb on Muttur jetty while attacking suspected Tamil Tiger positions in the northeast. The pro-rebel Tamilnet website reported 12 other civilians died when government warplanes struck the rebel-held Sampur area late Tuesday in retaliation for a suicide bombing that killed 10 and wounded 30, including the army chief.
“Groups of people searching for casualties in Tuesday’s attacks said at least 12 bodies of Tamil civilians were recovered so far,” it said. “The death toll is expected to increase.”
It was not immediately clear if the military airstrikes caused other damage, but Tamilnet said 15,000 villagers were fleeing their homes yesterday as strikes continued. The military launched the bombardments after a woman pretending to be pregnant blew herself up at army headquarters in the capital.
