Tamil Guerrillas Attack 6 Police Stations in Sri Lanka; 21 Killed

At least 21 people were killed Friday in fierce pre-dawn battles in eastern Sri Lanka when fighters of an illegal Tamil militia attacked six police stations simultaneously, military sources and citizens said.

The military sources said 15 members of the underground Tamil National Army and six security men died in fighting that raged for six hours in eastern Ampara district.

Residents of Kalmunai, 150 miles east of Colombo, said more than 20 Tamil fighters were killed. A police official said 40 security men and 25 of the attackers were injured.

In groups of 40 men, Tamil National Army fighters with mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns attacked police stations at Samanturai, Kalmunai, Chavalakadai, Akkaraipattu, Karativu and one known as the Central Camp, the military said.

The Kalmunai resident said 600 Sri Lankan military reinforcements who rolled into the town Friday afternoon were greeted with gunfire.

“But the attacks were repulsed with the help of air force helicopters,” he said.

On Tuesday, 400 soldiers were sent to Kalmunai after battles between the TNA and police, the first Sri Lankan troops in the area since the Indian army withdrew from Ampara last month. The Indian troops had been helping the government battle Tamil guerrillas.