DATE=4/23/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=SRI LANKA FIGHTING UPDATE (S&L)
NUMBER=2-261633
BYLINE=JIM TEEPLE
DATELINE=NEW DELHI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka say they have
overrun Elephant Pass, a key army base which links the
northern Jaffna peninsula with the
rest of the country. A Sri Lankan military official
(Brigadier General Palitha Fernando) says that
government forces have made what he describes as a
tactical pullback north of
Elephant Pass - moving more than ten-thousand troops
north to defend Jaffna city. V-O-A's Jim Teeple
reports, Tamil rebels claim to have
killed more than one-thousand government troops in the
operation - but Sri Lanka's military says only 49 of
its soldiers have died -- while
more than 150 rebels have been killed.
Text: More than 10-thousand Sri Lankan troops
guarded Elephant Pass and its loss is a serious blow
to Sri Lanka's military which has never
lost control of the strategic base in more than 20
years of fighting against the Tamil Tigers.
Troops from the base have now been moved north about
40 kilometers north to defend Jaffna city which Sri
Lanka's army captured from the
Tamil Tigers in 1996.
A statement from the Tamil Tigers says their forces
killed large numbers of government troops in two days
of heavy fighting to capture Elephant
Pass. Sri Lanka's military says it has readjusted
its defenses to the north of the stategic base, and
its troops are prepared to defend Jaffna city.
Confirmation of both sides claims is impossible
because no independent observers are allowed into
combat areas.
The Tamil Tigers say they have captured large amounts
of ammunition, weapons and military vehicles in the
battle and will now turn their
sights on Jaffna city which they describe as the
cultural capital of the Tamil nation.
// REST OPT FOR LONG // The rebels launched their
offensive to capture the Elephant Pass and Jaffna city
last November. In March they
escalated their attacks capturing sections of the main
north-south highway in the region.
Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga is
reportedly returning to Colombo from London, where she
was undergoing medical treatment, to take control of
the military situation. The apparent losses for Sri
Lanka's military come just two days after the
government appointed two new senior army generals to
try and stop Tamil rebel advances.
In recent weeks Norway has been trying to get both
sides to negotiate a solution to the war -- which has
claimed more than 55-thousand lives
over the past 20-years. Both sides have agreed to
Norwegian mediation but so far no dates have been set
for a face-to-face meeting.
The Tamil Tigers say they are fighting to create a
homeland out of the Northern and Eastern parts of Sri
Lanka -- saying Tamils face discrimination at the
hands of Sri Lanka's majority Sinhala
population. Sri Lanka's government says Tamils did
face discrimination in the past but those practices
are now no longer in
effect. (Signed)
23-Apr-2000 05:07 AM EDT (23-Apr-2000 0907 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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