Sri Lanka's Air Force bombed Tamil Tiger bases for a third day on Thursday, and suspected rebels clashed with government soldiers, after the foes agreed to crunch talks aimed at halting renewed civil war.
Residents in the far northern army-held Jaffna peninsula heard volleys of artillery shells before dawn, but said the intensity was far lower than in recent weeks - the worst fighting since a 2002 cease-fire that now lies in tatters.
The military said the Air Force pounded suspected bases of the rebels' naval Sea Tiger wing in the eastern district of Batticaloa, and also raided rebel targets in the north.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the government have agreed to meet for talks on October 28-30 after a six-month impasse. The government committed to the talks on Wednesday night, and says they will take place in Geneva.
The Tigers wanted to go Oslo and have not yet said whether they agree to go to Geneva. The rebels have threatened to withdraw from the truce completely if attacks by the military continue, while the government says it reserves the right to retaliate if the Tigers attack security forces.
"Opportunities don't come often. Both sides will have to understand that," said defence spokesman and cabinet minister Keheliya Rambukwella. "Anything that threatens national security will be responded to." Some analysts believe the time is not right for talks given the intensity of fighting, and fears the war could escalate.
Each side accuses the other of trying to rekindle a two-decade conflict that has killed more than 65,000 people since 1983, and Nordic truce monitors see little will from either side to halt the violence. On Wednesday, the air force pounded rebel positions in the island's far north and a powerful roadside bomb was defused in the capital Colombo.
That in turn came after a series of clashes and military offensives since late July that have killed hundreds of civilians, troops and Tiger fighters and displaced tens of thousands of people from their homes.
Food and fuel are in short supply in the northern Jaffna peninsula, cut off from the rest of the island by rebel lines, and many residents living on rations and under curfew are fed up.
"Fighting must stop. Schools must function. Shops must be full again," said 30-year-old bank worker Vettivel Thiyagarajah, who is waiting to be evacuated from the peninsula after being trapped for weeks by the rebel siege.
"Acts of good will must begin," he added. "I don't think the peace talks will be a success... We the innocent civilians, both Tamils and Sinhalese, are being cheated."
The local stock market rose 1.0 percent on Thursday and 1.19 percent on Wednesday on news that the two sides had agreed to talk again. Analysts suspect the Tigers have agreed to talk in order to buy time to regroup after fierce aerial bombing, artillery and rocket fire by the security forces. Trust between the foes has been almost completely eroded, and they continue to fight a parallel propaganda war in the media and on the internet.
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