Sri Lankan troops killed up to 44 Tamil rebels in clashes in the country’s north and east while destroying three small camps in the insurgents’ last eastern stronghold, the military said today.

Navy and army troops clashed with Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka's volatile north-east, triggering battles that left at least seven insurgents dead in the latest fighting in the tropical island's deepening conflict.

The Sri Lankan air force bombed a Tamil Tiger jungle base, killing at least eight rebels, including two senior guerrillas, a military spokesman said today.

THE renegade rebel army of a commander who defected from the Tamil Tiger separatists and placed Sri Lanka’s cease-fire in jeopardy was falling apart yesterday, following their retreat from battle with the mainstream guerrillas, military sources said.