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| Sea battle erupts off Sri Lanka | Sea battle erupts off Sri Lanka |
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| A fierce battle between the Sri Lankan navy and Tamil Tiger rebels is taking place off the northern Jaffna peninsula, the two sides say. | A fierce battle between the Sri Lankan navy and Tamil Tiger rebels is taking place off the northern Jaffna peninsula, the two sides say. |
| About 15 rebel boats were involved in the fighting, the military said. There are no details of any casualties yet. | |
| The rebels told the BBC they sank one navy boat and badly damaged another. | |
| Both sides blame the other for starting the fighting, which comes a day after army shelling killed dozens of refugees in the east of the island. | Both sides blame the other for starting the fighting, which comes a day after army shelling killed dozens of refugees in the east of the island. |
| Nearly 3,000 people have been killed in fighting since late last year, the government says. | |
| 'Suicide cadres' | |
| The defence ministry said the rebels attacked naval vessels in an attempt "to disrupt the supply of essential items to the Jaffna peninsula". | |
| It said "suicide cadres" were on board the rebels boats involved in the fighting. | |
| "The battle is still under way. More information will follow..." a brief statement on the ministry's website said. | |
| The rebels, meanwhile, say their vessels were conducting exercises when they were attacked by the navy. | |
| "We were forced to retaliate to safeguard our trainee boats," a spokesman, Rasaiah Ilanthiraiyan, told the BBC Tamil service. He confirmed that fighting was still continuing. | |
| Both the military and the rebels said casualty figures were not immediately available. | |
| The two sides have frequently clashed on land and at sea this year as a threadbare ceasefire has unravelled. | |
| Last month, the rebels carried out a suicide attack on a naval installation at the port of Galle, a popular southern tourist destination. |