Lanka launches ground offensive to secure port
Troops backed by multi-barrel rocket launchers and artillery guns moved towards the rebel-held town of Sampur at the southern edge of the Koddiyar bay where the main naval port of Trincomalee is located, officials said.
"A ground offensive was launched this morning and troops are moving towards Sampur," a military source said. "Troops are expecting close quarter fighting, but the casualties so far had been due to artillery and mortar bombs."
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said 20 civilians were killed and another 26 wounded in air and artillery attacks.
"Twenty civilians have died so far and 26 have been injured," the LTTE said in a statement. It did not say if the Tigers suffered casualties in the latest fighting.
The military casualties were taken to three hospitals in Trincomalee district as well as neighbouring Polonnaruwa district, doctors said, adding that most of the victims had shrapnel wounds.
Military sources said 79 soldiers were being treated in two of the hospitals.
Government forces pounded Tiger gun positions at Sampur, at the southern edge of the Koddiyar bay where the Trincomalee port is located. Officials said the Tigers were firing back with artillery and mortars.
"The Sri Lanka army has launched a two-pronged offensive towards LTTE-controlled Sampur with the support of heavy artillery fire since Monday early morning," the Tamilnet reported. It gave no details of casualties.
The defence ministry said the offensive was launched Monday after the Tigers fired mortar bombs and small arms at security forces.
Three civilians were killed elsewhere in Trincomalee following a land mine explosion, which was probably meant for soldiers, a local official said.
Another soldier was shot dead by suspected Tiger rebels in the northern town of Vavuniya Monday, the defence ministry said.
The Vavuniya shooting came as troops mounted the attack against Sampur, a highly strategic location used by the LTTE to hit the Trincomalee naval port and the nearby military airport.
A military official in Trincomalee, 260km northeast of the capital, said the latest offensive was part of a move to secure local military facilities against long-range attacks by the Tigers.
Trincomalee, which was a staging post for Allied forces during the two world wars, has an oil storage facility that provides energy security to the nation of 19.5 million people.
The oil tank farm is also within striking distance from Sampur, less than 10km from the Trincomalee naval facility across the Koddiyar bay. The port was hit by Tiger artillery this month.
The Tigers launched a major offensive against military camps in and around the Muslim-majority town of Muttur, southeast of Sampur earlier this month.
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