MSR was breached- SLA
[TamilNet, Monday, 27 March 2000, 14:00 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army said in a press release today that a gap was created in the Main Supply Route (MSR) to the Elephant Pass base from Jaffna due to fighting with the Liberation Tigers. Meanwhile, residents of Maamunai who fled the war zone this morning said that the Tigers have overrun the SLA garrison in that coastal village.
The communique put out by the Operational Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence this evening said that the Tigers were firing mortars on Pallai and that 11 soldiers have been killed and 23 injured in the fighting. The following is the full text of the MoD communique: "Further to press release at 1530 hours today: Whilst on clearing operation troops engaged group of terrorists in general area of Pallai. Terrorists continued to fire mortars into the area. Due to this 11 soldiers were killed in action and 23 were injured. Ground troops confirm that there were over 15 dead bodies of terrorists in the general area. The gap created due to the confrontation on the MSR (Elephant Pass-Jaffna) was bridged successfully by the ground troops. On the eastern sector of Vadamarachchi in Mamunai fishing village the coastal detachment of the security forces came under terrorists mortar fire. Clearing operation continues." Sources in Vadamaradchi east said this afternoon that four civilians were killed and thirteen wounded in the cross fire in the Sembiyanpattu- Maamunai sector. The army turned back all traffic at Muhamalai on the A9 north of Pallai.
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