Sri Lankan army's heavy fighting, seizes entire west coast.

By: aarana

Colombo : Sri Lanka | about 1 month ago

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Sri Lankan artist hold lamps during a silent vigil in Colombo

Source: Reuters
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksha gives a speech on the budget ...

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Sri Lankan artists hold lamps during a silent vigil in Colombo

Source: Reuters
Sri Lanka's President Rajapakse attends a joint news conference in New ...

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Sri Lankan Army commando patrols the recently recaptured ...

Source: Reuters
Sri Lankan Army commandoes patrol the recently recaptured ...

Source: Reuters

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COLOMBO,

Saturday's capture came after months of heavy fighting on the west coast.

Sri Lanka's military said troops seized the entire
western coast of the Indian Ocean island on Saturday, capturing the key Pooneryn
area where Tamil Tiger rebel artillery had kept soldiers at bay since 1993.

With the military controlling Pooneryn, a strategic spit of land that runs parallel to
the neck of the northern Jaffna Peninsula across a narrow lagoon, it will be in a
position to strike the rebel capital of Kilinochchi from three sides.

In one of Asia's longest-running insurgencies, at least 70,000 people have been
killed in Sri Lanka since 1983.

The Defence Ministry said troops had encountered stiff resistance as they fought
through marshlands south of Pooneryn and across the Paranthan junction overnight.