COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Fierce fighting between Sri Lankan troops and Tamil separatists defending their last remaining enclave has left about 100 rebels dead, the military said Sunday.
The army has ousted the Tamil Tigers from most of their strongholds in an all-out offensive the government hopes will end the South Asian island's 25-year civil war.
The rebel holdouts are confined to about 50 square kilometres of jungle and beach near Mullaittivu on the northeastern coast along with up to 200,000 terrified civilians.
Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said Sunday that troops had killed about 100 rebels in a series of clashes in rebel-held territory since Friday, though he cautioned that only about 50 bodies were found.
Troops also suffered casualties in three battles on the edge of the enclave, the army's website said. Nanayakkara would not say how many soldiers were killed or wounded.
In one clash, more than 200 rebel fighters attacked security forces near Puthkkudiyirippu, the last rebel-held town, before dawn Friday, the Defence Ministry said.
Rebel officials could not be reached, and accounts of the fighting and mounting civilian casualties can't be verified independently because journalists are barred from the war zone.
