Colombo: At least 28 Tamil rebels and three soldiers were killed in sporadic fighting in northern Sri Lanka as government troops continued their operations to recapture rebel-held territory, an army spokesman said Thursday.

Fighting was reported Wednesday in Vavuniya, 240 km north of the capital, in Welioya, 360 km north east of the capital, and in Mannar 320 km north of the capital, he said. Twenty-one Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTEE) rebels and three soldiers were killed in three separate confrontations in the Vavuniya district while four rebels were killed in Welioya, the spokesman said Three rebels were killed in a clash in Mannar, he added.

 Fighting between government troops and LTTE rebels has intensified during the past two months, with the government claiming that more than 2,100 rebels were killed in the north during the period as against 230 soldiers and police officers.

Fighting erupted in December 2005 after President Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected and the rebels went on the offensive. Subsequently the military also stepped up its operations. Since fighting has renewed more than 6,300 people on both sides have been killed.

Source : IANS