Lanka continues attacks on LTTE bases

Colombo: Sri Lanka's military pounded Tamil Tiger-held territories for a second day on Wednesday as the government vowed to retaliate against any militant attack.

The militants said at least 12 people had been killed in the strikes that pushed the country to the brink of a return to civil war.

"There will be coordinated retaliation by the armed forces if the LTTE continues to attack,'' government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said calling the militants by their full name, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

''We are taking maximum efforts to strengthen national security,'' he said.

Sri Lanka's air force struck Tamil militant bases Wednesday after navy craft came under attack, military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe said.

Later, the army fired mortars from nearby camps, and a pro-militant website reported at least 12 people were killed in the strikes lasting five hours on Tuesday night.

Militant official S Elilan speaking by telephone from Trincomalee, militant territory targeted in the attacks, said many more people could be buried in the rubble of damaged homes and buildings.

''There are many people urgently needing medical attention but we can't transport them because the roads are closed,'' he said.

The government had closed a highway providing the only land link between Sri Lanka's south and Tamil militant-held areas in the north, said Helen Olafsdottir, spokeswoman for the European team monitoring the country's cease-fire.

Elilan also said some 3,000 families have been displaced from their homes following the military attack.

While Elilan maintained that the militants have not hit back, Samarasinghe said three civilians were killed and 11 injured, including two navy sailors, in militants mortar attacks overnight.

The details could not be independently confirmed.

Ulf Henricsson, the Swedish head of the Nordic cease-fire monitoring team, said that despite the hostilities, SriLanka's frail four-year-old truce is still valid.

''Certainly, we still have a valid cease-fire, no one has abrogated it, but it is on paper, what is going on is a serious violation of the agreement,'' he told The Associated Press.

A Marxist ally of President Mahinda Rajapakse's ruling coalition said the recent hostilities should free the government from its obligations under the cease-fire.

''We stress that the government should not be bound by an agreement that has been abrogated by the Tigers and no longer valid,'' said Tilvin Silva, an official of People's Liberation Front.

A top military analyst said if the government's military operation expands and results in substantial militant casualties, SriLanka will face the prospect of a return to full-scale warfare.

''If the limited operation is limited to certain areas to frighten the LTTE and to keep them away, it might not escalate,'' retired Air Marshall Harry Goonetilleke said.