Tamil Tiger rebels mounted fresh attacks on the army in northern Jaffna and shelled a key sea port at the northern tip of the peninsula yesterday as Sri Lanka said it had rushed new weapons to its beleaguered troops.
Norway, which is attempting to broker peace, said it was sending a high-level delegation to Colombo, the capital, next week.
Military officials said by phone that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had fired a few shells at Kankesanthurai, the main port in the peninsula, three miles west of the Palaly air base. They said there was no damage to the port.
The rebels have been shelling Palaly, the only airport in the peninsula, for the last two days.
Palaly holds the military's main ammunition and fuel dump on the peninsula. Along with Kankesanthurai, it is the military's only supply point as there is no land access to Jaffna.
Tamilnet, a pro-rebel website, monitored in London, said the LTTE had fired several volleys of artillery at the base, hitting the runway as well as the main communications tower. A government statement in Colombo said the LTTE rebels had launched a huge attack on the "defensive positions" of the army at Kaithadi early yesterday. "Troops fought back effectively to repulse many human waves of the LTTE," it said, adding that eight officers and 36 soldiers were wounded. Kaithadi lies three miles east of Jaffna city, and the rebels said earlier this week they had captured a military base there after ferocious fighting.
An earlier government statement said that some of its "newly acquired weapon systems" had been sent to Palaly and that they would "become operational very shortly".
Sri Lanka has been buying arms since the LTTE last month launched a major push to recapture Jaffna, its former stronghold that was lost to government troops in 1995.