Military spokesman says no area in the east is considered under LTTE control

Military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said no area in the east was considered under LTTE control in the Cease fire Agreement (CFA) signed in 2002.

He told BBC Sandeshaya that Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) is trying to create new demarcation lines “after signing the CFA”.

North 'different'

The SLMM has earlier ruled that security forces have violated CFA by entering LTTE-held Sampur in the east.

It is clear that the trawler was carrying explosives and live bullets as the boat exploded On Naval clash off Mannar

The special Task Force (STF ) had to retaliate attacks by the LTTE from Kanjikudichcharu but did not enter any rebel-held area, he said.

The spokesman said the situation is different in the north where Forward Defense Lines (FDL) are clearly mentioned.

There has been a huge blast near Mannar as Sri Lanka Navy launched an attack on a suspicious trawler boat, Brig. Samarasinghe said.

Naval clash

Sri Lanka Navy has identified one trawler as a fishing boat, but was suspicious about the other as it carried a Sri Lankan flag though the boat was an Indian one, he said.

The navy patrols had ordered the trawler to stop and a gun battle started.

The clash has taken place at Arippu, 35 nautical miles off from Mannar.

“It is clear that the trawler was carrying explosives and live bullets as the boat exploded,” he told bbcsinhala.com.

Three Sri Lanka Navy sailors sustained injuries, he added.

This latest violence comes on the day that Japan's special envoy is expected in Colombo for talks with the government and the Tamil Tigers.