Tamil Tiger bases 'are captured'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/6433683.stm

Version 0 of 1.

Sri Lanka's military says it has overrun four Tamil Tiger rebel bases in the north-east of the country after three days of fighting.

Military spokesman Brig Prasad Samarasinghe said the surviving rebels had run away.

Meanwhile, 18,000 people have fled more fighting further south near the town of Batticaloa.

Some 4,000 people have died in growing violence since December 2005 despite a ceasefire still officially holding.

'Threatened'

Ground troops backed by artillery captured the Tamil Tiger bases before dawn on Friday.

Brig Samarasinghe said the presence of the Tamil Tiger camps to the north of Trincomalee had threatened army bases and nearby main roads.

Further south, in the district of Batticaloa, more than 18,000 people have now fled Tiger-held territory as the rebels and government forces exchange artillery fire.

The military is expected to try to drive the Tigers from the area, known as Thoppigala.

The rebels said they had repulsed an offensive by troops, leaving one soldier dead.

Government forces have captured large areas of the east that were controlled by the Tigers under the terms of the 2002 ceasefire, now ignored by both sides.

The Tigers have warned of a bloodbath in Sri Lanka unless the international community acts to stop the government's offensive.