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Journalism of Courage
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This is an archive article published on August 10, 2006
LTTE lifts canal siege, Army continues shelling
The government on Wednesday reclaimed control of a key canal that had been blocked by Tamil rebels in northeastern Sri Lanka in what appeared to an easing of a crisis that has sparked some of the fiercest fighting since a 2002 ceasefire.
The government on Wednesday reclaimed control of a key canal that had been blocked by Tamil rebels in northeastern Sri Lanka in what appeared to an easing of a crisis that has sparked some of the fiercest fighting since a 2002 ceasefire.
Hours later, however, the rebels accused the military of shelling guerrilla-held areas. 8216;8216;We don8217;t understand why they are doing this, but their actions show that they want to go to war,8217;8217; senior rebel leader Seevarathnam Puleedevan told AP from the rebels8217; northern stronghold of Kilinochhi.
The government said the water supply for some 60,000 people in government-held villages in the Trincomalee district had been restored. The rebels blocked it on July 20 after accusing the government of reneging on a pledge to boost water supplies in rebel-held territory.
The rebels announced on Tuesday that they were reopening the reservoir sluice gates that feed the canal, in the face of heavy government assaults, and the government declared its mission a success on Wednesday.
Puleedevan said the military fired mortars at rebel targets on Wednesday. He did not give any casualty figures.
Military spokesman Maj Upali Rajapakse would not comment on the rebel accusation, but said the military was 8216;8216;taking maximum measures to ensure that the water supply is not disrupted again.8217;8217; He declined to elaborate.
DILIP GANGULY
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