WORLD> Asia-Pacific
Sri Lanka says latest fighting kills 29
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-05 15:52
COLOMBO -- A series of new battles in Sri Lanka's decades-old civil war killed 24 Tamil Tiger rebels and five soldiers, the military said Sunday.

The heaviest fighting Saturday occurred near the rebels' administrative capital of Kilinochchi, where 20 guerrillas and four soldiers died, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said.

The government says its soldiers are edging closer to capturing the strategic town. Kilinochchi gained prominence as the meeting place between the rebels and various visiting diplomats during a Norway-brokered peace process that was officially called off early this year.

Nanayakkara said four other rebels and a soldier also were killed in clashes in the Vavuniya and Welioya regions.

Rebel officials could not be contacted for comment because most communication lines to guerrilla-dominated areas have been severed.

Independent observers and reporters are barred from the war zone, making it difficult to verify the military's claims.

Tamil Tiger rebels have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for the country's ethnic minority Tamils who faced marginalization by successive governments controlled by majority ethnic Sinhalese.