Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels said they had halted an offensive on a government-held town in the east on Saturday and were pulling back, a sign that conflict on the island may be easing off. The government said hostilities would stop if the Tigers kept their word.
The pull-back comes after days of shelling and mortar and artillery duels around the eastern town of Mutur, just south of the port city of Trincomalee.
Mutur was infiltrated by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels earlier this week and is now a ghost town, buildings badly damaged and riddled with bullet holes.
"The offensive operation in Mutur has stopped and the LTTE is going back to its former positions in our own territory," a Tiger source told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "There is no ceasefire yet." "It was a limited operation, and we are doing this on humanitarian grounds," the source added, saying the Tigers want thousands of Muslims who fled on Friday to return home.
The government said it was not interested in chasing the Tigers.
"We are not going to chase them ... We wanted certain areas cleared of terrorists and we have done that," said Defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella.
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