Colombo: Tamil Tiger guerrillas today (Apr 11, 2004) opened a new offensive against renegade rebels in Eastern Sri Lanka after vowing to remove the breakaway commander.

The new flank of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) against renegade commander V Muralitharan, better known as Karuna, is from the Eastern district of Ampara.

Karuna controlled the adjoining districts of Batticaloa and Ampara, but yesterday, he withdrew from the Northern sector of Batticaloa unable to face the Tiger onslaught launched from the North.

Now the drive comes from the South aimed at confining Karuna to his Thopigala jungle base.

Government military sources said Karuna lost about a third of the territory when he withdrew his fighters from the banks of Verugal river that separates Baticaloa from Tincomalee district.

"Advance commando teams of the LTTE moved into the Southwestern sector (from the South) of the Batticaloa district and began consolidating strategic positions there since Saturday morning," the pro-rebel Tamilnet website said.