Military says 4 soldiers killed in Tamil rebel fire in eastern Sri Lanka

Associated Press, Sun January 14, 2007 01:40 EST . BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI - Associated Press Writer - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Separatist Tamil Tiger rebels attacked a military camp in eastern Sri Lanka - , killing at least four government soldiers, the Defense Ministry said Sunday. Sri Lanka - 's north and east have become a hotbed of violence between the military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which has been fighting for over 20 years for a separate homeland for Sri Lanka - 's 3.1 million minority Tamils, who have suffered decades of discrimination by the majority Sinhalese.

The military has stepped up efforts to flush 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.

On Saturday, a Sri Lankan air force bomber severely damaged a Tamil rebel base in Verugal, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the military's Mankerni camp in the eastern Batticaloa district.

The rebels had used the artillery position at Verugal to fire at military camps in the area, Samarasinghe said earlier.

However, he said the attack on the Mankerni base late Saturday did not come from Verugal, Samarasinghe said Sunday.

Also on Sunday, police recovered the bodies of two ethnic Tamils found with gunshot wounds near Vavuniya, the last government-held garrison town before rebel territory in the north.

The two victims were identified as Muthukumar Puwanseshwaran, 29 and Arason Yogeshwaran, 28, local Police Chief Kumara Sandanayake said. No other information was immediately available.

There was no immediate comment from the rebels, and phones rang unanswered at the Tiger's stronghold in Kilinochchi.

In eastern Sri Lanka - , there is no proper demarcation of government-held and rebel-held areas and both sides frequently clash.

In eastern Ampara which adjoins Batticaloa district, anti-terrorist commandoes captured two more rebel bases, Samarasinghe said, bringing the total number of rebel bases captured this week to four. Seven smaller camps have also fallen in Ampara, further south of Batticaloa, the military said.

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.