The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Colombo

A wave of new fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels across Sri Lanka's northern region killed 35 guerrillas and one soldier, the military said Thursday.

Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said the clashes took place Wednesday in the Vavuniya, Mannar, Welioya and Jaffna areas bordering the rebels' de facto state in the north.

In the worst battle, soldiers killed 20 insurgents in Vavuniya and five soldiers were wounded, he said. Clashes in the nearby Mannar district killed 11 rebels and wounded one soldier, while other battles in Jaffna and Welioya killed four rebels and one soldier, he said.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan was not immediately available for comment.

It was not possible to independently verify the military's claims because journalists are banned from the northern jungles where much of the fighting takes place. Each side commonly exaggerates its enemy's casualties and plays down its own.

The government has pledged to capture rebel-held territory and to crush the insurgents by the end of the year.

The Tamil Tiger rebels have fought since 1983 to create an independent state for minority ethnic Tamils, who have been marginalized by successive governments controlled by majority Sinhalese. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers said Thursday they killed 10 government soldiers and wounded 18 others in the latest heavy fighting in the north of the island.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said their fighters beat back an army attempt to break their forward defence lines near Vavuniya during a six-hour battle on Wednesday.

"The Sri Lanka army had suffered casualties, at least 10 killed and more than 18 wounded," the LTTE was quoted saying by the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com website.

The rebels did not disclose their own casualty details, and no independent confirmation of the claim was available.