By Prensa Latina,
Colombo : At least 63 Tamil separatists and government soldiers died in fierce clashes in northern Sri Lanka, reported the Defense Ministry Tuesday.
Sunday and Monday’s combats in the conflictive districts of Vavuniya, Jaffna, Mannar and Welioya, are part of a strong military offensive since late in January to try to move the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) away from their positions.
According to the dispatch released in Colombo, during those battles the soldiers occupied several positions of the Tamil rebels.
The army also recovered large areas in the northern region in the last few months and according to it, the rebels only have control of the northern districts of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu.
The LTTE has been fighting since July 1983 for the establishment of an independent state for the Tamil minority in northeast Sri Lanka, where over 75,000 people have died in those 25 years of combats.