COLOMBO, Dec 24: Troops combed Sri Lanka’s northwest to root out suspected rebels on Saturday after a series of deadly ambushes raised fears of a return to civil war, as the island’s main donors flew to meet the Tamil Tigers for an emergency briefing.
Diplomats said donors would deliver a harsh message to the rebels after an upsurge of attacks on the military by suspected cadres culminated on Friday in an ambush on a naval bus that killed 13 sailors in the deadliest incident since a 2002 truce.
Soldiers checked roadsides near the site of the attack in the military-held northwestern district of Mannar for any more claymore fragmentation mines like the ones used on Friday. Rocket-propelled grenades were also used in the attack.
“We have taken certain actions to tighten security,” said military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe. “We have done searches in the area where incidents have happened. In certain areas they are still going on.”
“Search and clearance is being conducted along roads,” he added. “There were no major incidents overnight. There was some small arms firing late in the Jaffna peninsula overnight, but no casualties.
Friday’s attack came after the first direct exchange of fire between the rebels and the navy at sea since the truce. The navy says three sailors were killed when Tiger rebels hid among a fishing fleet and attacked a patrol.
That incident in turn came after two claymore attacks earlier this month that killed 14 soldiers in the northern military enclave of Jaffna, which is hemmed in by rebel lines and which the Tigers want to control.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) confirmed they were involved in the naval clash but have persistently denied any involvement in a series of attacks on the military.
Residents and aid workers said Mannar and Jaffna remained tense on Saturday, with troops guarding street corners as locals did last-minute Christmas shopping.
The pro-rebel Tamil Nation Labour Union Federation issued a statement asking all government departments in Jaffna to close from Monday onwards, except essential services — seen by residents as a veiled warning of impending conflict.
“Our lives are in danger again, like in the 1980s. We have had three-and-a-half years of a little peace — again it’s war,” said 55-year-old teacher Thevamalar Junaratnam. “We Tamils have been destined to suffer.”. —Reuters
