By Xinhua,
Colombo : The Sri Lankan military said two government soldiers were injured Tuesday morning in the northern Jaffna peninsula as Tamil Tiger rebels violated their self-declared ceasefire and launched artillery attacks against government positions.
The Ministry of Defense said in a statement that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fired about 10 rounds of heavy artillery at the troops’ Muhamalai Forward Defense Line between 6 a.m. (1230 GMT) and 6:30 a.m. (0100 GMT) local time.
“Two soldiers have sustained injuries due to the attack,” said the statement.
The attack came although the LTTE recently announced that it would maintain a unilateral ceasefire since July 26 in view of the South Asian Association Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit which is currently being held in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo.
The government has refused to honor the ceasefire, saying that it would only go for a truce when the LTTE lays down its arms.
The military said clashes between the LTTE and the troops continued in the rebel held Wanni area on Monday, with 33 rebels having been killed and 34 others injured.
Three government soldiers were also killed in the clashes and eight more were injured.
Sri Lanka’s government troops are currently battling the LTTE in the north with the aim of totally crushing the organization.
The LTTE has been fighting against the government since the mid-1980s to establish an independent homeland for the island’s minority Tamils, which led to the deaths of more than 70,000 people.