63 Killed as Sri Lanka Fighting Flares After Military Called End to Offensive

Two naval clashes and an explosion killed at least 60 guerrillas and three sailors on Sunday, a day after the military said a major offensive against the Tamil Tigers had ended successfully.

Navy gunboats patrolling near Point Pedro, the northern tip of the rebel-controlled Jaffna peninsula, destroyed four guerrilla vessels, killing 21 rebels, said a naval officer who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In a separate attack, several small rebel boats tried to enter a port about 190 miles north of the capital, Colombo, when warships opened fire, sinking three of them, the Defense Ministry said. Rebel radio said 10 guerrillas died in the clash.

One of the rebels slipped into the water and planted two mines on the hull of a 2,600-ton command ship, said navy Commodore Terrence Sundaram. The explosion killed at least three sailors and injured at least 18 others, severely damaging the ship.

Later Sunday, a truck carrying explosives blew up in Thavadi, a village five miles north of Jaffna, killing 29 rebels, according to rebel reports intercepted by the military. It was unclear whether the truck belonged to the military or the rebels.

Minority Tamils have been battling since 1983 for a homeland in northern and eastern Sri Lanka. They accuse the Sinhalese majority, which controls the government and military, of discrimination. At least 35,000 people have died in the fighting.

Sunday’s attacks came a week after Sri Lankan soldiers launched their biggest military offensive against the rebels in eight years. The fighting stopped Friday afternoon, and the military announced Saturday that the first phase of its offensive had ended successfully.