LTTE gain in Jaffna peninsula

By V.S.Sambandan

COLOMBO, MARCH 29. Sri Lanka's separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) today gained control over the southeastern theatre of the Jaffna peninsula by capturing three camps. A total of 38 combatants - 25 LTTE militants and 13 Government troopers - were killed in a fresh 12-hour offensive.

On the battle-front, in what military and political observers term today's battle as ``a total setback'' to the Government troop and foresee as leading to a ``siege on the crucial Elephant Pass army complex,'' the LTTE claimed control over the Thalaiyadi, Maruthankerni and Chempianpattu camps. While an LTTE release claimed the captures, the Army conceded that it had ``tactically withdrawn'' its troops from the Maruthankerni area.

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