04-09-2004, 07:10 AM
Eight killed as heavy fighting erupts between two Tamil Tiger rebel factions; Sri Lankan forces on red alert
Associated Press, Fri April 9, 2004 02:06 EDT . SHIMALI SENANAYAKE - Associated Press Writer- COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Heavy mortar shelling and gunfire erupted Friday between two Tamil Tiger rebel factions, killing at least eight guerrillas and wounding five, in Sri Lanka - 's first battle since a 2002 cease-fire halted its civil war, the rebels and the military said. The split between the factions has complicated efforts to settle Sri Lanka - 's two-decade civil war, which has killed 65,000 people. Last Friday, a political alliance led by President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who has taken a tough line toward the rebels, won the most seats in parliamentary elections, defeating the party led by former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who initiated the most recent round of peace efforts two years ago. Kumaratunga accused him of being too soft on the Tigers. On Monday, the Tigers warned they'd go back to war with the government if their demands for sweeping autonomy in Tamil-majority northeast Sri Lanka - were not met. They say the minority Tamils face widespread discrimination from the ethnic Sinhalese majority.Kumaratunga who was left blind in one eye by a Tiger assassination attempt has refused in the past to give the rebels the degree of autonomy they want. The main rebel faction has warned it might target Muralitharan and his supporters for assassination
Associated Press, Fri April 9, 2004 02:06 EDT . SHIMALI SENANAYAKE - Associated Press Writer- COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Heavy mortar shelling and gunfire erupted Friday between two Tamil Tiger rebel factions, killing at least eight guerrillas and wounding five, in Sri Lanka - 's first battle since a 2002 cease-fire halted its civil war, the rebels and the military said. The split between the factions has complicated efforts to settle Sri Lanka - 's two-decade civil war, which has killed 65,000 people. Last Friday, a political alliance led by President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who has taken a tough line toward the rebels, won the most seats in parliamentary elections, defeating the party led by former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who initiated the most recent round of peace efforts two years ago. Kumaratunga accused him of being too soft on the Tigers. On Monday, the Tigers warned they'd go back to war with the government if their demands for sweeping autonomy in Tamil-majority northeast Sri Lanka - were not met. They say the minority Tamils face widespread discrimination from the ethnic Sinhalese majority.Kumaratunga who was left blind in one eye by a Tiger assassination attempt has refused in the past to give the rebels the degree of autonomy they want. The main rebel faction has warned it might target Muralitharan and his supporters for assassination
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