SLAF, LTTE clash in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 May 1999, 18:05 GMT]
The south-western outskirts of Batticaloa town were rocked by heavy gunfire around 10 p.m. today. A member of the Raazeek Group, a Tamil unit of the Sri Lanka Army said that a group of Liberation Tigers who had infiltrated through the high security zone near the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) base had opened fire on an Forward Defence Locality (FDL) near Vidaththalmunai, close to the lagoon.

The airforce base is on the south-western outskirts of Batticaloa.

The SLAF sentry opened fire again after a brief lull around 10.10 p.m.

A member of a Tamil paramilitary group operating with the SLA in Batticaloa town dismissed the matter as a minor incident.

Air Force sources in Colombo said that they were not aware of the incident.