Colombo, Nov 22: Sri Lanka has deployed more army troops in the northern city of Jaffna as the Tamil Tigers rebels prepare to commemorate guerrillas killed during the country's 19-year civil war, rebel sources and a news report said today. Tamil Tiger sources in the northern rebel-held town of Kilinochchi said there were new troops in Jaffna _ the centre of the Tigers' insurgency, which has been halted by a tenuous cease-fire.
Sri Lanka's military denied the rebels' claim. Top Sri Lankan military commander Gen. Lionel Balagalle told there was only some troop ``relocation'' in areas near Jaffna.
The rebels began fighting in 1983 to create a separate state for minority ethnic Tamils, accusing the majority Sinhalese of discrimination. About 65,000 people died in the conflict, which has battered the country's economy.
Sri Lanka's government and the tigers signed a cease-fire in February 2002. They've held peace talks but the rebels pulled out of them in April, demanding greater autonomy in Tamil-majority areas.
The peace process suffered another setback on Nov 4, when hardline president Chandrika Kumaratunga took over the defense portfolio from her rival, the Prime Minister, accusing him of giving the rebels too many concessions.
The pro-rebel web site terminate said troops were also patrolling the highway linking Jaffna with the rest of Sri Lanka. Jaffna is 300 km north of the capital, Colombo. Bureau Report