Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels said today more than 50 civilians were killed and 200 injured in their territory in the island's east during a major army offensive to capture a disputed water supply.
Army artillery and air force fighter jets pounded rebel positions in the east as ambulances ferried dozens of injured troops to hospital and the military moved tanks, munitions and fresh soldiers to the battlefront through green paddy fields.
Doctors said six troops were killed and more than 50 injured. "There are over 50 dead (civilians) because of artillery and mortar shells fired by the Sri Lankan military as well as fire from Kfir fighters," head of the Tigers' peace secretariat, said from the northern rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi.
Fifteen of the dead were taken to a hospital in the rebel-held town of Vakarai, to the south of the site of the fiercest fighting since a 2002 truce, he said.
Another 35 bodies were still to be moved. Troops said they made a push early on Thursday to wrest control of a disputed rebel-held water supply, which the rebels unblocked on Tuesday and which triggered the fighting in the first place. Nordic truce monitors said the Tigers had earlier on given them a figure of 30-40 dead civilians, and said they believed it.
The military had no confirmation of civilian deaths, but accused the Tigers of moving heavy guns to populated areas, and said any deaths were the rebels' fault. "Maybe they were subjected to our retaliatory fire.
But they should be responsible for not employing their guns close by a location where there are civilians," said Maj. Upali Rajapakse of the government's National Security Centre. Aid groups said both sides had ignored their appeals for a time window to pull injured civilians out of the battle zone.