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Military asks fleeing Tamil rebels to surrender in eastern Sri Lanka , 5 insurgents killed

Associated Press, Mon January 15, 2007 07:21 EST . DILIP GANGULY Associated Press Writer COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) _ The Sri Lankan military urged Tamil Tiger rebels fleeing attacks by army and commandoes in the east to surrender on Monday, as operations against the insurgents' camps intensified.

Village heads in Ampara district were told to deliver the announcement to Tamil Tiger rebels who were in hiding or on the run after four rebel bases and seven smaller camps fell to military control last week, military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe said.

Five rebels surrendered to police commandoes in Amapara on Sunday evening, he said, without giving further details.

Samarasinghe urged the rebels to hand themselves in at the nearest police or army post.

The Tamil Tigers ridiculed the idea.

``It is not an issue worth commenting upon,'' rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan said from the insurgents' headquarters of Kilinochchi. ``Now and then they (military) make such meaningless announcements, but we are not bothered.''

Ilanthirayan admitted, however, that Sri Lankan forces had moved into some rebel-held areas in Ampara.

``Off course they made advances to our territory in Ampara, but then in Ampara we operate in a guerrilla mode,'' he said, adding that they are continually on the move.

Separately, Sri Lankan troops fatally shot five rebels who confronted them while on a foot patrol in eastern Sri Lanka. The troops recovered the bodies of two insurgents along with weapons and ammunition, said Samarasinghe.

The incident happened late Sunday in Batticaloa district, which adjoins Ampara.

Also late Sunday, the military discovered two bombs in the northern towns of Vavuniya and Jaffna, Samarasinghe said.

The rebels have been fighting for over 20 years for a separate homeland for the country's 3.1 million minority Tamils, who have suffered decades of discrimination by the majority Sinhalese.

The military has stepped up efforts to flush the rebels from eastern Sri Lanka, where the insurgents are at their weakest since a top commander broke away in 2004 with an estimated 6,000 fighters.

Although both sides claim to be adhering to a Norwegian-brokered 2002 cease-fire, violence has escalated since late 2005, with over 3,600 people killed last year alone. Discuss this