Fighting breaks out near Nagarkovil FDL

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 31 May 2006, 02:03 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and Liberation Tigers exchanged mortar and artillery fire near the Nagarkovil Forward Defence Line (FDL) in Vadamaradchy east from 5:55 a.m. till about 8:00 a.m., Wednesday, sources in Jaffna said. LTTE has advanced significant distance towards the SLA's FDL and, SLA has been forced to move back from their FDLs, sources said.

Defense sources in Jaffna, however, said that SLA soldiers had beaten back the limited advance by Liberation Tigers.

Although there are fears of several casualties, neither side has revealed details on casualties or injuries.

Following attacks by the SLA, several families near Nagarkovil have shifted southwards towards safer areas, sources said.

The no-man zone separating FDLs of the LTTE and those of the SLA is less than 50 meters, and the two sides have engaged in frequent skirmishes.