Tuesday, September 5 2006 12:28 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Colombo: Sri Lanka's military yesterday (Sept 4, 2006) took control of a strategic northeastern coastal town used by the Tamil Tigers to cripple a main naval base, but President Mahinda Rajapakse said it would not lead to an all-out war with the rebels.



Soldiers, backed by artillery and mortar bombs, captured Sampur, about 10 kilometres across the Trincomalee natural harbour, which is home to a naval base and an airfield.

"Our troops have captured Sampur," Rajapkse told a party rally here, but added that this is not war, we are only responding to an attack on us.



He also said that he wanted a negotiated political settlement to the island's drawn-out separatist conflict and an honourable peace.



The rebels had said earlier that if the army tried to take control of the town it would lead to a collapse of a ceasefire in place between the two sides since 2002.

But troops moved into Sampur today after weeks of fighting which included artillery, air and ground attacks.

Policy Planning Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the troops did not encounter much resistance and there were only a few casualties from booby trapped devices.

"We are now in total control of the area," he said.

The fall of Sampur secures the northern peninsula of Jaffna too because all supplies and troops sent to Jaffna start their journey in Trincomalee.

Earlier last month, the Tigers used Sampur to pound Trincomalee, inflicting heavy losses on the military and crippling supplies to Jaffna.

"Sri Lanka sent an emissary to New Delhi over the weekend to inform Indian authorities of the imperatives to take Sampur in order to secure military supplies to Jaffna," official sources said.

"Meanwhile, at least one Sri Lankan soldier was killed and several others were wounded when the Tigers fired mortar bombs at security forces in the area overnight," military officials said.

S Elilan, the Tigers' eastern divi+on whether the action was a violation of the cease-fire, and whether the country was now officially back at war.

"If they say it's a full-scale war, then we don't have to be bound by the cease-fire agreement," the rebel leader said.

The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission - set up to rule on cease-fire violations - said it could take some time before a decision is made, and that it may take into account weeks of air, artillery and mortar fire in eastern Trincomalee district that preceded the Sampur push.