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.

Heavy mortar shelling and gunfire erupted today between two Tamil Tiger rebel factions, killing at least eight guerrillas and wounding five, in Sri Lanka’s first battle since a 2002 cease-fire halted its civil war.