Sri Lanka Army Advances Into Rebel Stronghold

Government troops fought their way toward the heart of Jaffna on Thursday against Tamil guerrillas holding out in the besieged rebel stronghold.

The soldiers were trying to reach the city’s symbolic center, an 18th-Century Dutch fort that has been bombed to rubble during the 12-year civil war.

It would be the first time government troops returned to the oceanside fort since they retreated from the city under rebel fire five years ago.

“In a few more days, Jaffna will be completely under our control,” Anuruddha Ratwatte, the deputy defense minister, told Parliament on Wednesday. “Fifty-five percent of the town is under our control.”

More than 2,300 soldiers and rebels have been killed and 6,000 wounded in the 45-day offensive to capture Jaffna and force the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam guerrillas to negotiate peace.

Two rebels were killed Thursday in a clash with soldiers clearing buildings of booby-traps, explosive devices and mines in newly captured areas, the military said.

Meanwhile, the guerrillas announced they had released six government soldiers held captive for several years.

The Tamil rebels have been fighting for a homeland in the north and east that would free them from the domination of the majority Sinhalese. More than 39,000 people have died in the conflict since 1983.