Sri Lanka back on brink of civil war

A sea battle launched by Tamil Tiger rebels in northern Sri Lanka has left about 50 insurgents and 17 sailors dead or missing, in a sharp escalation of violence that shoved the country back onto brink of civil war today.

Both the government and a team of European-led monitors accused the Tigers of violating the country’s 2002 cease-fire accord with their attack that sank a navy patrol boat off the northern coast yesterday.