Military

DATE=10/29/00

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=LANKA CLASHES ()

NUMBER=2-268586

BYLINE=VIKRAM SINGH

DATELINE=COLOMBO

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Sri Lanka is reeling from more violence as a fresh government offensive in the north killed 25-rebels and Tamil protests elsewhere turned violent with one death reported. Vikram Singh reports from Colombo, that Tamil's are protesting a massacre Wednesday at a government rehabilitation center for former guerrillas.

TEXT: Sri Lankan officials say a successful military operation claimed the lives of 25 Tamil rebels in the northern Jaffna Peninsula.

A statement from the Director of Information, (Ariya Rubasinghe) said 11-soldiers were wounded in the early morning operation in Maduvil, east of Jaffna City.

Meanwhile, army officials say protests over killings at a government rehabilitation center turned violent in the central hill districts of Nuwara Eliya (nu-REL-iya) and Badulla.

Officials say the violence is under control, but was widespread in several towns and villages north of Bandarawela - where villagers massacred 27-Tamil detainees on Wednesday. The government says the rehabilitation center was a unique program for young fighters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam who had either surrendered or been captured.

According to officials, protests of the killings led to clashes between Tamils and members of the Sinhala majority community. They say several Sinhala-owned shops were burned by Tamils, sparking reprisal by Sinhalse in Talawakele 190-kilometers east of Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo.

According to railway officials, trains into the area have been stopped following an attack on a railway station and the burning of a train in nearby Watagoda. Officials also say mobs damaged tracks by laying logs and boulders to block trains.

In Colombo, the government sought to reassure the public that everything is under control. A statement from the Special Media Information Center calls for peace-loving citizens to remain calm.

Tamil rebels have been fighting for a separate state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for 17-years. (SIGNED)

NEB/VS/RAE