Government Troops to Retaliate Against Rebels in Sri Lanka

Troops made an amphibious landing and hacked their way through jungle Saturday to link up with about 700 of their comrades who had retreated from a rebel assault on a military base.

The forces were preparing to launch a counterattack today on the Pooneryn base, where about 900 other soldiers are trapped by Tamil rebels, a military officer said on condition of anonymity.

The base is on the shore of Jaffna Lagoon, which lies between the main part of Sri Lanka and the rebel-held Jaffna Peninsula.

The peninsula has been a stronghold for the Tamil rebels since they began their separatist campaign in 1983. The Thursday assault on Pooneryn was one of the rebels’ biggest victories in several years.

The Thursday assault on Pooneryn was one of the rebel’s biggest victories in several years. From Pooneryn, the government was able to attack boats carrying rebels from the peninsula to other parts of Sri Lanka.

More than 400 soldiers were killed in the rebel offensive, a senior military officer said Saturday. Earlier, the death toll had been put at 300.

The rebels did not release casualty figures, but military intelligence, quoting intercepted rebel radio messages, said 450 guerrillas have been killed. At least 350 soldiers wounded in the attack had been located, Defense Secretary Hamilton Wanasinghe said.

President Dingiri Wijetunge had ordered the troops to regain Pooneryn base at any cost, Wanasinghe told reporters.