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ASIA-PACIFIC 
Dozens die in Sri Lanka clashes: govt
Monday, 13 October, 2008
At least 27 Tamil Tiger rebels and five government soldiers have been killed in the latest clashes in northern Sri Lanka, the island's defence ministry says.
The ministry said the fighting occurred on Sunday around Kilinochchi, the administrative centre of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the target of the current government offensive.
There was no immediate comment from the Tamil rebels, and casualty figures cannot be independently verified as the Sri Lankan government tightly controls media access to the war-torn north.
The latest casualty figures bring to 7,466 the number of LTTE fighters the defence ministry has reported killed since January, when the government pulled out of a Norwegian-brokered truce.
It has acknowledged the loss of 738 soldiers in the same period.
Source: AAP
