Clashes between Sri Lanka's military and rebel fighters killed at least 33 soldiers in the militants' headquarters district of Kilinochchi, the government said.
The fighting, which started October 18th, also left 11 Tamil Tiger rebels dead and injured 48 soldiers, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement today. Three soldiers were reported missing, the department said.
Soldiers also captured the rebel-held village of Vannerikulam in the western part of Kilinochci yesterday, after months of fighting, according to the statement.
Sri Lankan soldiers overran the "last major" Tamil Tiger fortification in the Kilinochchi area in the October 18th offensive, the ministry said yesterday. Soldiers attacked from east and west of Akkarayankulam, in the district's south, capturing 19 bunkers in a three-kilometre (1.9-mile) stretch of the rebel territory, the ministry said.
Thousands of civilians have left their homes in the past four months as the army advanced toward the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam headquarters, in the Wanni area, in an attempt to end a 25-year conflict.
The Tamil Tigers, who are fighting for a separate homeland, were driven from Eastern Province last year and now hold bases only in Northern Province.
Sri Lanka also said today it will not allow a European Union investigation into rights abuses before renewing a trade preference that has helped boost the Indian Ocean nation's garment industry.
The Sri Lankan government also said it would provide a $150 million support scheme to offset any shock the loss of the concession may cause in an industry that in 2007 was its top foreign exchange source.
The European bloc has, since July, repeatedly warned it may not renew the "GSP Plus" trade scheme after it expires in December because of continuing human rights abuses stemming from Sri Lanka's civil war with the separatist Tamil Tigers.
Agencies