Fresh fighting near Mankulam

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 May 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Fighting is reported to have broken out in the general area of Mankulam as the Sri Lankan Army launched a fresh attempt to advance towards the strategic Mankulam junction, said SLA sources in Vavuniya today.

The Liberation Tigers are firing mortars on SLA positions, they said.

SLA sources said that the troops had suffered no casualties in the latest fighting. Further details of the fighting are not known.

Meanwhile two SLA soldiers were killed and one wounded when the Liberation Tigers ambushed a SLA patrol this morning around 6 a.m. in Murunkan, said SLA sources.

The troops were ambushed near forward defences of the Murunkan camp while they were returning after a night patrol, they said.

Some weapons and a communication set were taken away by the Tigers, they said.