Colombo, May 27: Sri Lanka's military vowed on Saturday to defend Jaffna against a major Tamil rebel offensive as the guerrillas announced a unilateral truce to allow civilians to move out. Army General Jaanaka Perera said the military was pushing back the LTTE in the Jaffna peninsula and that the troop morale was high with the induction of new weapons and equipment. "The unceasing waves are now chasing the Tigers," Perera said over national radio referring to the rebel offensive code-named Unceasing Waves III aimed at retaking the Jaffna peninsula.The general's remarks came as a week-long period given by the LTTE for government troops to vacate Jaffna lapsed without a military response. Perera had earlier responded to the Tiger offer to vacate Jaffna by saying they were determined to push the Tigers out instead. In a statement issued in London, the LTTE said it was declaring a 12-hour unilateral truce Saturday to allow civilians in the Thenmarachchi sector of Jaffna to leave to safer areas within the peninsula. There was no immediate reaction to the truce from government forces.The Tiger offer came as President Chandrika Kumaratunga ruled out withdrawing troops from Jaffna as a deadline set by the guerrillas for an evacuation passed at midnight Friday. President Kumaratunga told an Indian television network India had offered help to pull out 30,000 troops from Jaffna, but said she did not think the military situation in the region would deteriorate to that point."The humanitarian assistance they have offered is for evacuation and that kind of thing, but that comes in only if we lost the war but that is a last resort thing which we would certainly use if the need arises, but we hope we won't," she told India's NDTV network. Fighting raged in Jaffna on Friday with the government saying security forces and Tamil Tiger rebels traded artillery fire and mortar bombs in the Jaffna peninsula.
