By Xinhua
Colombo : Two civilians were injured when Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels fired mortars at a village in northern Sri Lanka, defence officials said Saturday.
Both casualties in the mortar attack, which happened Friday evening in the Ethavatunuwewa village of the northern Vavuniya district, were women aged 58 and 28, police said.
The rebels have been continuously firing mortars at the village during the last two months.
Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said they would no longer accept dead bodies of the LTTE from the Army to be handed over to the LTTE in the eastern Batticaloa district.
Davide Vignati, the ICRC spokesman, said Saturday "We could no longer find direct LTTE interlocutors in Batticaloa. As a result, we refused to accept three LTTE bodies from the Army yesterday (Friday)."
Vignati, however, added: "We will continue to assist both parties on request in the districts of Vauniya and Mannar (in the north)."
The government announced July 11 that the entire Eastern Province had been rid of the LTTE with the capture of Thoppigala jungles in the Batticaloa district.
Since last week, the clashes between the two sides have shifted to the north with some 13 combatants from both sides dying in a pre-dawn clash Friday.
Over 5000 people have died in the escalation of armed conflict since the end of 2005.