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Colombo: Sri Lankan troops launched a wave of attacks on Tamil Tiger bunkers that killed 18 guerrillas and four soldiers, despite a rebel decision to implement a temporary, unilateral cease-fire, the military said on Monday.
The rebels said last week they would halt attacks for 10 days starting last Saturday as a goodwill gesture in honor of a summit of South Asian leaders to be held in Colombo.
However, the group said it would retain the right to defend itself if the government pressed ahead with its offensive against their de facto state in the north.
Sri Lankan officials gave conflicting responses to the cease-fire declaration, with some military officials saying halting the offensive now, after several important
victories in recent days, would give the rebels time to regroup.
On Saturday, as the cease-fire was to start, government forces killed 12 rebels across the battlefront, the military said.
Fighting continued on Sunday, with at least 16 different battles breaking out in the Welioya and Vavuniya regions, some of them sparked by government attacks on the rebels' bunker lines, the military said on Monday. The rebels also carried out at least five roadside bombings against troops, the military said.
The violence killed 18 rebels and four soldiers, the military said.
"There's no response to the cease-fire. Our offensives are going on," military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said.
Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan was not immediately available for comment. It was not clear if the rebels would abandon the truce in the face of the ongoing attacks.
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