Sri Lankan Troops Brace for Rebel Onslaught

The government said Tamil Tiger rebels were raining artillery and mortar fire on troops Saturday as the military strengthened defenses to beat back an advance by the guerrillas on the northern Jaffna peninsula.

A government statement said the air force had bombed rebel positions north and south of Elephant Pass, the peninsula’s gateway that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam overran last month.

It said troops also fired long-range mortars while patrols went out ahead of the defense lines. Four soldiers were wounded by Tiger fire, it added.

The statement did not give details of rebel casualties, but the government said Friday that 458 rebels were killed between April 27 and Thursday in fighting.

There was no comment from the Tigers about the latest fighting in Jaffna, considered the cultural capital of Sri Lanka’s minority Tamils. The government has said it will not withdraw from Jaffna.

Military officials said troops are building defenses to keep the rebels from moving artillery within range of Jaffna’s only airport.

There was little fighting Friday in Jaffna peninsula. On Thursday, the government armed itself with wide powers and censored the foreign media as it faced possibly its biggest crisis in the 17-year war against the rebels.

The draconian laws involve the Public Security Act, which grants authorities power to seize property and vehicles, stop the sale and distribution of newspapers seen as contravening national security, and shut down printing presses.

A state of emergency is already in place in Sri Lanka.

Rallies, demonstrations and strikes were banned.

The opposition United National Party blasted the new laws, saying they are oppressive and against democratic norms.

The Tigers have been fighting for a separate homeland for minority Tamils in Sri Lanka’s north and east since 1983.