By Prensa Latina,
Colombo : At least 16 Tamil rebels and one governmental soldier died in the last 24 hours during fighting in the northern region, according to a communique from the Defense Ministry.
Clashes registered in the districts of Mannar, Vavuniya, Welioya and Jaffna also wounded 18 separatists from the Tamil Eelam Liberation Tigers (TLTE) and 19 soldiers.
The dispatch also reported a Sri Lankan raid on a logistic base of the TLTE in Piramanthal northeastern area.
However, the TLTE Tamilnet’s web site denounced that the army had bombed a civil settlement and spread photographs showing the body of a 15-year teenager allegedly killed on the attack.
The TLTE has been fighting since July 1983 to achieve an Independent State in the eastern and northern regions where the Tamil ethnic group represents the majority, as compared to Singhalese predominance in the rest of the Indian Ocean island.