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.

No candles, kerosine for villagers cut off by landslides in Sri Lanka

Associated Press, Sun January 14, 2007 11:06 Sri Lanka - (AP) Isolated and cut off from supplies because of heavy landslides, displaced people in this remote central Sri Lankan village say their stocks of candles and kerosine oil are exhausted.

``We lit our last candle yesterday and our kerosine oil stock is finished so we will have no lighting at night,'' said R.B. Weerasooriya, a village administrative officer.

More than 500 people in Landupitiya fled their homes and took shelter in a government school in the same village after at least 17 people from surrounding areas died and many went missing in Friday's landslides.

Between 9,000 and 16,000 were made homeless by the disaster that hit many parts of Nuwara Eliya district, known for its lush tea gardens.

Landupitiya, on higher ground, survived, but people saw their walls cracking from smaller earth slips, forcing them to abandon their homes, Weerasooriya said.

School teacher Wimala Kumari said that she took shelter in the school where she works when she saw a strong gush of rain water uproot a large tree in her garden.

Electricity has been cut off since Friday, and vehicles from outside can't reach the village because wide cracks have appeared on many parts of the only access road.

Some people take the risk of trekking down to the nearby town Padiyapelella to get provisions, but the town is nearly deserted after the government advised the people to go to safety because continuing monsoon rains could cause more landslides.

On Sunday, army soldiers visited Landupitiya for the first time since Friday to evacuate sick and elderly people to hospitals.

Meanwhile, Gamini Hettiarachchi, director general of the Disaster Management Center, said Sunday that evacuation of people cut off by the landslides was hampered because air force helicopters could not operate because of mist and heavy rain.

Speaking from Colombo, he said 128 people were air lifted on Saturday.

Associated Press writer Bharatha Mallawarachi contributed to this report from Colombo.