Bunker battles kill 48 in Sri Lanka: military

COLOMBO (AFP) - At least 46 Tamil Tiger rebels and two government soldiers have died in intense battles for a bunker line in northern Sri Lanka, the defence ministry said Thursday.
Government forces destroyed five bunkers held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during fighting on Wednesday afternoon, a ministry statement said.

Thirteen guerrillas fell in one battle and 30 in a second confrontation in the Mannar region. Three more rebels were killed by army snipers in the same area, the ministry said.

The clashes came hours after suspected rebels hit in the deep south, away from the usual conflict zone, killing three soldiers guarding a highway in Buttala, 350 kilometres (220 miles) south of the Tiger's de facto state.

Meanwhile, the rebels issued a statement accusing government forces of using artillery in civilian areas inside rebel-held territory, injuring children and farmers.

"Tamil civilians ... are paying dearly for the constant shelling by the Sri Lanka military. Thousands of families have (been) displaced from their homes," the LTTE said.

According to the defence ministry, 1,404 rebels have been killed so far this year. The military estimates the rebel strength at 5,000 combatants.

The military said 82 soldiers and police have been killed since the beginning of the year.

Casualty figures provided by both sides differ wildly and cannot be independently verified since the government bars journalists and human rights workers from frontline and rebel-held areas.

The Sri Lankan government last month officially pulled out of a truce with the rebels, who have fought for more than three decades for an independent ethnic homeland in the Sinhalese-majority island.