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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Sri Lanka troops 'take key town' | Sri Lanka troops 'take key town' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Sri Lankan troops have taken control of a crucial area near the north-eastern port town of Trincomalee held by the Tamil Tiger rebels, the military says. | |
| A defence spokesman said government forces had moved into the town of Sampur, meeting little resistance. | A defence spokesman said government forces had moved into the town of Sampur, meeting little resistance. |
| There has been no word from the rebels, who have used the area to launch artillery attacks on Trincomalee port. | There has been no word from the rebels, who have used the area to launch artillery attacks on Trincomalee port. |
| Fighting around Sampur started more than a week ago. Sporadic clashes are continuing in the north of the country. | |
| The BBC's Dumeetha Luthra in Colombo says the fall of Sampur is a strategic victory for the government, but adds that analysts believe the Tigers may retaliate elsewhere. | |
| The rebels have said that if the army tried to take control of the town, it would mean the end of a ceasefire still nominally in place. | |
| 'Total control' | |
| Troops backed by air support began a major offensive to take Sampur in late August. | |
| The only resistance we encountered was mines and booby-trapped devices Defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella "We are in total control," defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters. | |
| He said the entire harbour mouth, including several Sea Tiger bases, was now in the hands of the military. | |
| "Troops are now engaged in clearing operations," he said. "The only resistance we encountered was mines and booby-trapped devices." | |
| President Mahinda Rajapakse formally announced the capture of the strategically-important town at a rally of the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party. | |
| "Our troops have captured Sampur," he said to loud applause. | |
| "This is not war, we are only responding to an attack on us." | |
| The rebels say dozens of civilians were killed or injured in air raids. The military denied striking civilian targets. | |
| The past month has seen the worst violence since the truce deal was struck in 2002. | |
| Hundreds of people, many of them civilians, have been killed in clashes this year. | |
| The UN says more than 200,000 people have been displaced by the renewed clashes. |