Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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December 21, 2008

Sri Lanka, Tamil Tigers, Make Conflicting Battle Claims
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=211FE26:A6F02AD83191E160959E2941EE0E67A930EB2FA2E66CBB22&
 
Rebels say they recovered 12 bodies of Sri Lankan soldiers and
recaptured territories that had been recently seized by government
troops, a claim government rejects 
Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels say they have killed at least 60
government troops advancing toward the rebel's de facto capital,
Kilinochchi. Rebels examine their weapons in this handout picture
released by The Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eeelam (LTTE) website
Tamilnet (file photo)The rebels said Sunday that they recovered 12
bodies of Sri Lankan soldiers and recaptured territories that had been
recently seized by government troops. But the government today has
rejected the rebels' accounts, saying there were few soldier deaths and
no retreats from army locations in the north. Both sides in the conflict
routinely exaggerate the other's casualties while minimizing their own.
It is not possible to verify the claims because journalists are barred
from the war zone. The Sri Lankan government said Thursday that soldiers
had seized a section of a Tamil rebel fortification around Kilinochchi
during heavy fighting. Sri Lanka's Tamil rebels have been fighting since
1983 for an independent homeland for the island's minority Tamils, who
complain of being marginalized by the Sinhalese majority. The conflict
has killed more than 70,000 people. Some information for this report was
provided by AFP and AP.


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