70 Reported Killed in Sri Lanka Fighting
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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Thousands of Sri Lankan troops advanced on the Tamil rebel stronghold of Jaffna city Sunday, and at least 30 soldiers and 40 guerrillas were killed in fierce fighting, the military said.
Heavy civilian casualties were also feared as the military offensive to capture Jaffna entered its 13th day. The advancing columns were five miles from the city.
More than 300,000 civilians have fled their homes as the military has shelled the area, a Roman Catholic priest in the war zone said Sunday.
“The bombing is so bad that children cry and scream when they hear the sound of a warplane approaching,” said Father Christopher Jeyakumar of the Jaffna Diocese.
The military says at least 159 soldiers and 500 rebels have died in the largest offensive since the Tamil rebels began their war for an independent homeland in the north and the east in 1983.
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