Sri Lankan army artillery fire hit two camps in rebel territory in the island's northeast, killing 15 refugees and injuring many more, the Tamil Tigers said today.
Two days earlier the army had accused the rebels of a similar attack. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) also said the military mounted a major offensive in the eastern district of Batticaloa to push into their territory, which the army denied and accused the rebels of using civilians as cover.
As with other recent clashes, independent confirmation of what had happened behind rebel lines was impossible.
"The army shells hit the camps and 15 IDPs (internally displaced persons) are dead," rebel military spokesman Rasaiah Ilanthiraiyan said. "They also advanced 2.5 km into our territory in an offensive, firing artillery and multi-barrel rockets and using battle tanks," Ilanthiraiyan added.
"We have recovered five bodies of Sri Lankan army soldiers." The incident occurred two days after the military said Tiger artillery hit a school in northeast Sri Lanka, killing a teacher, a schoolboy, three civilians and wounding 10 students.
The military said the Tigers continued to fire artillery further north in the neighbouring district of Trincomalee today, and said two soldiers were killed and 30 injured in retaliatory strikes.