12 rebels killed in Sri Lankan violence

Twelve Tamil rebels and five Sri Lankan sailors were killed today in a clash near a western naval base, a navy spokesman said – the latest violence threatening to cause a four-year ceasefire to completely collapse.

Helicopter gunships helped the navy sink two rebel boats carrying six guerrillas each and repulse the attack after a 45-minute encounter, said navy spokesman D. K. P. Dassanayake.

However, rebel spokesman Daya Master said that only one guerrilla died in the battle and that the rebels killed seven navy sailors and sank one boat.

The fighting came amid violence that many fear is edging the nation closer to full-scale civil war.

Also today, one soldier was killed in an ambush by suspected separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, while three civilians were found shot dead in troubled eastern Sri Lanka.

The military also said today that a veteran officer with experience fighting the separatist Tigers had been named to replace the nation’s third-highest-ranking general, who was killed this week in a suspected rebel suicide attack.

Lt. Gen. Parami Kulatunga was cremated with full military honours in the Sri Lankan capital today.

The rebels, who want to carve out a separate homeland for Sri Lanka’s 3.2 million ethnic Tamil minority, often attack Sri Lankan navy positions, saying they will not tolerate intrusion into what they call their territorial waters.

The rebels control one-seventh of Sri Lanka’s land mass in the northeast and say they have the right to use the adjoining sea.

Today’s clash took place off the village of Kalpitiya coast in fishing waters about 86 miles northwest of the capital, Colombo. The seas in that area have seen repeated clashes in recent months, with Sea Tiger boats attacking navy patrols.

The rebel flotilla was detected today by patrol boats as it approached the naval base, and the insurgents promptly attacked, forcing the navy and air force to dispatch help, said the navy spokesman.

“Around 20 Sea Tiger boats had come to attack our camp in Kalpitiya. We retaliated and got help from our air force,” said spokesman Dassanayake.

Two Tiger boats were destroyed and one navy boat caught fire, he said. The rebels retreated after air force helicopters arrived and fired.

In Colombo, Major General Shaman Kulatunga, who led an armoured division and has wide experience fighting the separatists during his 33-year career, has taken over the post of deputy chief of staff, the Sri Lankan military said on its website.

He replaces Major General Parami Kulatunga, who was killed on Monday in a suicide bombing blamed on the Tigers. The two men were not related.

Also today, the Tigers ambushed an army patrol, killing one soldier and wounding three others in Welioya, about 160 miles northeast of Colombo, said an official at the media centre for national security.

Separately, three civilians were found shot dead in eastern town of Eravur in the Batticaloa district, 140 miles east of Colombo. “We found three bodies of youths with gun shot injuries. Their bodies and the motorbike they were travelling have been set on fire, said police chief Maxi Procter.

He said the killings had occurred last night. The motive of the killing and the identities of the assailants are still unknown.

A rebel was killed in an attack by a suspected breakaway guerrilla group yesterday, the rebels said, contradicting the government’s claim that four were killed.

The Tamil Tigers blamed the attack on the breakaway faction, which they say colludes with Sri Lanka’s military to attack the mainstream rebel group, a claim the government denies.