posted June 05, 2000 02:50 PM            

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (Reuters) -- Government troops killed 14 Tamil Tiger rebels in fresh fighting in northern Sri Lanka as the state media reported on Sunday the purchase of gunboats from Israel to boost the navy's firepower.

A government statement said 14 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) guerrillas had been killed on Saturday in three separate skirmishes in the northern Jaffna peninsula.

Fighting in Jaffna has overall eased after weeks of fierce battles.

The LTTE, fighting a 17-year campaign to create a separate state for minority Tamils in the country's north and east, is trying to recapture Jaffna, the former stronghold they lost to the military in 1996.

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The state-owned Sunday Observer newspaper reported that Israel had agreed to supply the navy with combat craft equipped with missiles and computer-guided targeting systems.

The paper did not give the number, cost or delivery date of the gunboats.

"The strengthening of the navy's strike capability follows a decision by military planners to neutralize the LTTE's naval bases which are also known to be the principal landing points for much of the Tigers' clandestine supply deliveries by sea," the Sunday Observer said.

It said the gunboats would allows the navy to strike at known LTTE strongholds from a safe distance from the coast.

Amid fighting, Jaffna has maintained a sense of normalcy

The government has been on a weapons buying spree since losing a key military base to the rebels in April and has earmarked 12 billion rupees ($161 million) for immediate purchases.

Government officials said last week that some of the new weapons already acquired had succeeded in stalling an LTTE blitz to recapture Jaffna which began with the fall of the Elephant Pass base straddling the isthmus gateway to the peninsula.

But the northern battlefields have been largely quiet since an LTTE deadline for troops to surrender expired late last month.

The government says it will never withdraw from Jaffna and that dozens of rebels have been killed in the army's fresh counter-offensives in the past several days.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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posted June 05, 2000 04:46 PM         

Atleast some one must enjoy this!!!

Next time, Chandrika can increase the price of a shag by Rs.10. ha...ha...haaa.....