Airstrikes trigger Sri Lanka civil war fears

Sri Lanka’s military launched airstrikes on Tamil rebel bases today after navy craft came under attack, and a pro-rebel web site reported at least 12 people killed as the country appeared on the brink of returning to civil war.

The government closed the highway providing the only land link between Sri Lanka’s south and Tamil rebel-held areas in the north, said Helen Olafsdottir, spokeswoman for the European team monitoring the country’s disintegrating cease-fire accord.