Hundreds of government forces mounted a fresh offensive against Tamil Tiger guerrillas in the Jaffna peninsula on Friday as the rebels announced a unilateral ceasefire, the defence ministry said. Security forces broke out of their defences in the Jaffna peninsula and moved into areas held by the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), ministry spokesman Sanath Karunaratne said. "We have started the operation this morning and it is in progress," Karunaratne said. It is code-named Kinihira seven (anvil-7). We are awaiting details.
The military offensive came less than a day after the LTTE said it would observe a one-month unilateral ceasefire from Sunday to help kickstart a Norwegian-backed peace initiative.
Bureau Report