LTTE claims another town — Report

NEW DELHI, MAY 20: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on Saturday claimed it had captured Chavakachcheri, the second largest town...

NEW DELHI, MAY 20: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on Saturday claimed it had captured Chavakachcheri, the second largest town in the Jaffna peninsula, after 12 hours of heavy fighting with the Sri Lankan army.

With the fall of the strategically-important Chavakachcheri, the capital of Thenmarachchi division, and its surrounding villages to the rebels, Kodigamam stands as the last bastion of Government troops in the division, an LTTE release in London carried on the Tamilnet.Com website said.

It said the army suffered heavy casualties and a huge loss of arms and ammunitions. "Dead bodies of soldiers are scattered all over the town," the release said.

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It said the rebels overran military bases at Maduvil, Nanavil and Sarasalai junctions in the heavy fighting that continued on yesterday and throughout the night.

It said columns of heavily armed rebel commandos supported by artillery and mortar fire launched a mutli-pronged attack on the town in the early hours on Saturday. The troops withdrew towards Kodigamam in the evening after intense fighting that continued throughout the day, it added.

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