COLOMBO, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan
government said Thursday that a skirmish in the northern Jaffna peninsula which
had left a large number of government troops dead was not a serious setback in
the island nation's campaign to end terrorism.
"This was not a setback, not a debacle," Keheliya
Rambukwella, the government's defense spokesman and the minister of Foreign
Employment told reporters.
He was responding to clashes with Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which had raged into a serious fight since Monday night
and throughout Tuesday.
The government said 43 soldiers were killed and 33
were missing with 120 more injured in the battle at Muhamalai in the Jaffna
peninsula.
Meanwhile, 81 rebels were killed and 196 others were
injured inthe incident.
"They (rebels) came to attack the military defense
line in order to move further into Jaffna," Rambukwella said, adding that "the
Army repulsed the attack and are now occupying the LTTE first forward defense
line."
However, the rebel casualty figures indicated much
higher military casualties, with Tigers claiming they had killed over
100soldiers.
"Our goal of eliminating terrorism by the end of the
year still remains," Rambukwella said.
Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, the military spokesman
said that the Army had consolidated its positions in Muhamalai after the
clashes.
The government is engaged in its current campaign in
the north to eliminate the rebels from the north by the end of the year. More
than 7,000 people have died in the escalation of the conflict since the end of
2005.
Fierce fighting kills 90 in N Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, April 23 (Xinhua) -- At least 52 Tamil Tiger rebels and 38 government soldiers were killed in a major confrontation in Sri Lanka's northern Jaffna peninsula Wednesday morning, officials said.
The Army said in a statement that clashes between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and government troops broke out minutes after late midnight Tuesday and culminated Wednesday morning.
