By Xinhua
Colombo : Troops have gunned down seven Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels in separate conflicts in the island’s north, the military said Wednesday.
The Media Centre for National Security said in a statement that six LTTE guerrillas were killed in two clashes when they attempted to attack government troops at Muhamalai in the northern district of Jaffna Tuesday.
Another rebel was killed in a battle at Nagarkovil in the northern district of Jaffna around 10.20 a.m., the military said.
No damages to the troops were reported, the military added.
Since the military claimed in mid-July that the eastern province was free of rebels, clashes between LTTE rebels and government troops have largely shifted to the island’s northern province.
Claiming discrimination at the hands of the Sinhala majority, the LTTE has been fighting the government since the mid-1980s to establish a separate homeland for the minority Tamils in the north and east.
More than 5,000 people have been killed in the new wave of violence since the end of 2005. The Norwegian brokered cease-fire agreement now exists only on paper.