Fierce fighting between troops and the LTTE claimed the lives of at least 52 civilians in Sri Lankas war-ravaged north on Wednesday as the Government came under growing global pressure for declaring a no-fire period. A cluster bomb struck one of the last functioning hospitals in Wanni region. The latest attack came as Sri Lanka marked its 61st Independence Day,with President Mahinda Rajapaksa declaring that the LTTE will be totally defeated in the next few days. I am confident that in a few days we will decisively defeat the terrorist force that many repeatedly kept saying was invincible, Rajapaksa said in his Independence Day speech. In Suranthapuram in Wanni,52 civilians were killed in shelling,UN spokesman Gordon Weiss said,adding it was not known who was responsible for the attack. Lanka strongly denied targeting civilians and said its military does not use prohibited cluster bombs. The Government instead pointed an accusing finger at the LTTE for the attacks. Concerned about the humanitarian situation,the US and Britain have asked both the Government and the LTTE to agree to a temporary no-fire period to allow the civilians and the wounded to leave the conflict zone. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband also called for a political resolution to the decades-old ethnic conflict in the country. Sri Lankan troops on Wednesday captured a huge LTTE suicide attack training facility believed to have been used by Tamil Tiger supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran to host the final dinner of death before sending the human bombs to their missions. The seizure of the training centre in the embattled north came even as at least seven LTTE cadres were killed in fierce clashes with Sri Lankan army,the Defence Ministry said. The training base was well-equipped with modern fitness maintenance equipment,an auditorium and underground bunkers with food storage facilities,the ministry said. Soldiers also found grey camouflage uniforms and training gear of the suicide bombers at the site.
