Moonrumurippu assault repulsed - LTTE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
A fresh Sri Lankan Army assault to advance towards Mankulam via Moonrumurippu, south-west of Mankulam, was beaten back said Liberation Tigers in a press release issued from their International Secretariat in London this evening.

The advancing troops were backed by Kfir warplanes, Mi 24 Helicopters and intense artillery fire, it said.

However the press release did not give any causality figures.

Meanwhile the press release said 40 SLA soldiers were killed and several others were wounded in the fighting east of Mankulam which erupted yesterday morning. The bodies of 8 SLA soldiers were recovered by the Tigers, the Tigers said.

One battle tank was destroyed and two others were damaged in this fighting, the Tigers said.

The press release also said that they lost 13 fighters.

Recent outbreak of fighting comes after a lull prior to which heavy fighting had raged in the area since May 28.

The SLA troops have launched repeated assaults in the Mankulam area against fierce LTTE resistance.

A statement from the Sri Lankan defense ministry issued earlier this week said that the troops have captured new areas and the troops have surrounded.

The Sri Lankan government has imposed strict censorship on the reporting of military action. This, combined with the ban on correspondents entering the war zone has made it impossible to independently verify events taking place there.

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