DATE=5/30/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=LANKA/LANDMINE (L-O)
NUMBER=2-262955
BYLINE=VANDANA CHOPRA
DATELINE=COLOMBO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: A landmine explosion in northern Sri Lanka has
killed eight-policemen and wounded 10 others. As
Vandana Chopra reports from Colombo, more than 25
Tamil rebels and government soldiers are reported to
have died in fighting in Sri Lanka's north.
TEXT: Military officials say the policemen were
killed when the truck they were riding in hit a
landmine near the northern town of Vavuniya - 220-
kilometers north-east of the capital, Colombo.
Police blame Tamil rebels for the blast a day after
Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering said there
can be no military solution to Sri Lanka's ethnic
conflict. While visiting Colombo he said the conflict
can be resolved only through political negotiations.
Meanwhile, a government statement says it has
reinforced its troops in Jaffna and they are on the
offensive. // OPT // It says troops have advanced in
the Chavakacheri, Ariyalai, and the Sarasalai areas of
the Jaffna peninsula. // END OPT //
The director of government information says troops
backed by artillery and mortar advanced into rebel-
held territory east of Jaffna city, killing 14-
guerrillas.
Fierce fighting has raged for days on the Jaffna
peninsula, as rebels try to regain their former
stronghold captured by government forces in 1996.
The government has imposed a blanket censorship on
local and foreign media, and government statements are
nearly impossible to confirm because journalists are
not allowed in the war-torn areas.
The Tamil rebels have been fighting for a separate
homeland in Sri Lanka since 1983. (SIGNED)
NEB/VC/RAE
30-May-2000 08:25 AM EDT (30-May-2000 1225 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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