Sri Lanka clash kills 32 after ceasefire dismissed

COLOMBO, July 23 (Reuters) - More than 30 people have been killed in fighting in northern Sri Lanka, the military said on Wednesday, after the government dismissed a declaration by Tamil Tiger rebels of a brief unilateral ceasefire. An email statement from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam early on Tuesday said the rebels would refrain from military action during the 15th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) conference from July 26 to Aug. 6. But Sri Lanka rejected the rebel gesture and Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said the government would not abide by it. "Ground battles killed 29 LTTE terrorists and injured 58 on Tuesday," said a spokesman at the Media centre for National Security on Wednesday, referring to fighting in the northern districts of Jaffna, Vavuniya and Welioya. The military also... [read full story]