Sri Lankan offensive continues

Sri Lankans raised flags and held a moment of silence today in honour of the military, as troops pushed deeper into rebel-held territory in the north in their offensive aimed at crushing the Tamil Tigers and ending the 25-year-old civil war in the country.

Government forces have won a string of victories over the rebels in recent months, forcing them to withdraw from much of the de facto state they once controlled in the north.

On Friday, troops took control of the rebels’ administrative capital, Kilinochchi, dealing a harsh blow to their dreams of establishing a separate state for ethnic Tamils here.

The rebels, as well as hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by the fighting, are now confined to a small jungle area.

In honour of the troops, and of those killed in the war, the government held flag-raising ceremonies across the country and called for two minutes of silence, even as the military pressed ahead with its attacks.

Troops clashed with the rebels across the Mullaittivu district yesterday and recovered the bodies of at least 15 guerrilla fighters killed in the battles, the military said today.

Rebels could not be reached for comment on the fighting.

However, the rebel-affiliated TamilNet website reported that the insurgents stalled a military advance on the road to its northeastern stronghold of Mullaittivu killing 53 soldiers and wounding 80 others.

The military gave no figures for its own casualties.