Fighting between government forces and Tamil separatists in Sri Lanka's embattled north left 27 rebels and one soldier dead, the military said Tuesday, according to AP. Violence has heightened in this Indian Ocean island in recent months amid a government push to capture the Tamil Tiger rebels' de facto state in the north and crush the group by year end. But diplomats and other observers say the army is facing more resistance than it had expected. The worst fighting Monday broke out along with front lines in Vavuniya district, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said. Government forces killed 17 guerrillas, and 3 soldiers were wounded, Nanayakkara said. On Tuesday, army troops shot and killed a Tamil rebel in the village of Navakkuli in Vavuniya, he said. Other fighting in Mannar and Welioya regions on Monday killed nine rebels and one soldier, and left three soldiers wounded, he said. Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan did not answer calls seeking comment. It was not possible to independently verify the military's claims because journalists are banned from the war zone. The government and rebels often exaggerate their opponents' casualties and underreport their own. Meanwhile, Tamil rebels asked a Norwegian peace mediator to intervene to halt an alleged assault by government forces on a centuries-old Catholic church in the Mannar area.
