Separatist Rebels and Navy Forces Battle at Sea
The military said it killed at least 20 Tamil Tiger rebels in an attack on vessels off Sri Lanka’s northern coast, and a U.S. envoy urged both sides to seek a permanent end to the decades-long separatist insurgency.
Navy patrols intercepted about 15 rebel boats off the village of Nagarkovil on the Jaffna peninsula and destroyed two of them in a 90-minute battle, a Defense Ministry spokesman said.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher ended a two-day visit by calling on both sides to seek a resolution to the conflict when they resume peace talks Oct. 28 in Switzerland.
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