Sri Lankan jets bombed Tamil Tiger rebel positions today, the military said, one day after a raid in the northwest of the island which the United Nations and rebels said killed 14 civilians.
The military said the latest strikes were aimed at heavy weapons of the Tigers in the eastern Batticalao district, the scene of intense fighting for the past few weeks. It did not give any details and there was no immediate comment from the rebels.
The bombing came as the UN urged the two sides to stop fighting and protect civilians after air strikes the previous day killed 14 people, including six children, the UN and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam said.
The military has denied hitting civilian settlements in the air raid yesterday in Mannar district which has become the latest flashpoint in the fighting between the military and the LTTE, despite a 2002 ceasefire. "Sri Lankans continue to suffer deeply due to this conflict, and today's loss of life is a source of deepest concern," said Margareta Wahlstrom, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs in a statement in New York yesterday.
"It is imperative that both sides to the conflict take all measures to fulfil their obligations under international law to protect civilians in this conflict, we have too often seen them fall short," the statement on the UN website said.
More than 4,000 displaced from the fighting last year were sheltered in the LTTE-controlled coastal village of Illupaikadavai in Mannar district where the bombing was carried out, the UN said.