COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan forces launched airstrikes and ground assaults on ethnic Tamil rebels in the north Saturday, a day after dealing the separatists’ struggle for autonomy a devastating blow by capturing their de facto capital, the military said.
But in a sign the rebels are determined to fight, a small bomb planted under a car exploded on a busy street Saturday in Colombo, wounding three people, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara. The attack came a day after a suspected rebel suicide attacker blew himself up near air force headquarters in the city, killing three airmen.
Ethnic Tamil politicians, warning that the beleaguered rebels would simply turn to guerrilla warfare, appealed for an end to the fighting and for talks to resolve the Indian Ocean island nation’s ethnic conflict.
In a major blow to the rebels’ battle for an independent state, the government captured their administrative capital of Kilinochchi on Friday. The rebels have come back from major defeats before to surprise government forces and retake territory, but many analysts said the unrelenting government offensive made such a comeback less likely this time.
On Saturday, troops turned their attention to two of the rebels’ remaining strongholds, Elephant Pass in the north and Mullaitivu in the northeast, said defense spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella.
Air force jets and attack helicopters on Saturday pounded a base used by the rebels’ naval wing, Tamil Tiger fortifications along the front lines and a group of rebels confronting troops advancing toward Mullaitivu, the military said.
Ground fighting continued throughout the day, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said, without providing details.
The island of Sri Lanka
Key facts about Sri Lanka, where the government and the Tamil Tiger separatists have been fighting for 25 years.
Geography: A tropical island off India’s southern tip. The capital is Colombo. Plantations of coconut, rubber, tea, cinnamon and other spices, with large sparsely inhabited areas of forest and scrub in its 25,500 square miles.
People: About 20 million: 74 percent Sinhalese, 18 percent Tamil, 7 percent Muslim. Most Sinhalese are Buddhists, while Tamils are predominantly Hindus or Christians.
Conflict: Tamil rebels have been fighting since 1983 for a separate homeland, accusing the majority Sinhalese of widespread discrimination. The main rebel group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, began as a guerrilla organization. By the mid-1990s, LTTE had a conventional army that was able to fight the Sri Lankan military. The group also used suicide bombs to kill prominent leaders, including former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa. At least 70,000 people have died in the conflict.
The Associated Press
