Sri Lankan defense officials said Tamil Tiger rebels in war-torn northern and eastern areas were bombed on Saturday.

Group Captain Ajantha Silva of the Sri Lanka Air Force said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)-held Pudukuduiruppu and Mullaitivu in the north were bombed with Israeli-built Kfir jets.

Silva said rebel gun positions in Vakarai in the east were completely destroyed by the air raids carried out around 9:30 AM local time (04:00 GMT).

The LTTE has been attacking the military from Vakarai using mortar and artillery fire and the rebels faced accusations of using refugees as human shields in the attacks.

The LTTE countered by charging that the government troops are out to flush out the minority Tamils from Vakarai and had imposed a blockade of essential food and medicine to the regions.

There have been many civilian deaths in attacks blamed on both sides in Vakarai and the international community has appealed to both sides to spare civilians from attacks.
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Defense officials say that some 30,000 civilians have fled Vakarai to find refuge in government-controlled areas.

The violence in the north and east since December 2005 have already cost over 3,500 lives, seriously jeopardizing the Norwegian-backed peace process.

(Xinhua News Agency December 31, 2006)