COLOMBO, July 28: Five guerrillas belonging to the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) were killed on Thursday when the Sri Lankan air force bombed a guerrilla stronghold in Trincomalee, where the Colombo government says the LTTE has cut off water supply to farmers in government-controlled areas.
Defence ministry spokesperson Keheliye Rambukwella said the government had launched the air strikes in an effort to send irrigation engineers to the area to restore the water supply.
European truce monitors say they fear an aggravation of the situation after the LTTE’s refusal to respond to requests by the monitors to lift the water blockade.
‘BROAD FRONT’: The Marxist ally of the government, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), said on Wednesday it had proposed the formation of a ‘broad front’ to defeat the Tamil Tiger guerillas.
Speaking at a press conference in Colombo, JVP leader Somawanse Amarasinghe said his party was inviting ‘any political party or person’ to join them.
