By Xinhua,
Colombo : Tamil Tiger rebels Monday fired mortar shells at a ship carrying essential commodities for civilians in Sri Lanka’s Mullaitivu district, the military said.
Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said the ship, carrying about 500 tonnes of essentials to the Internally Displaced Persons, was being unloaded in the government created safety zone when it came under mortar attacks launched by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam at about 8:30 a.m. (0300 GMT).
Nanayakkara said the captain of the ship took the vessel to the deep sea after the incident.
“No one was injured. There was no damage to the ship,” said the spokesman.
Over 35,000 people trapped in the war-zone in LTTE-held areas have entered the government-held areas since January and are being temporarily resettled in the northern Vavuniya and Jaffna districts.
The military says that the LTTE is now cornered into an area less than 50 square km, holding thousands of civilians as human shield.