COLOMBO March 10 Kyodo The Sri La...

COLOMBO March 10 Kyodo

The Sri Lanka Navy upon Monday sank a merchant freighter belonging to the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) along the rebel-held northeastern Mullaitivu coast, the military confirmed.

At least four horde on board the naval offshore patrol sailing craft were hurt in an exchange of fire with the freighter, the navy said in a statement situationed on the military Web site. There was no word upon rebel casualties.

The navy claimed it had received ''credible'' information forward Sunday that a rebel ship carrying ''warlike material'' was approaching the Mullaitivu coast ''with the objective of unloading weapons at mid-sea onto small boats.''

A naval canal on routine patrol was expanded to investigate. The suspect sailing craft conforming to the intelligence received, flew no flag nor displayed a name in succession its bow, the navy claimed.

''On being challenged upon the international maritime communication channel, the replications received were vague and contradictory,'' the statement said.

It said it ordered the suspect utensil to stop but this was ignored and the rebel craft ''began to take evasive action and attempted to escape.''

The navy said its craft approached the suspect ship at conclude range to prevent this when it was fired concerning damaging the bridge of the naval craft and injuring individual officer and three crew.

''Our patrol craft took retaliatory action in the exercise of the right of self-defense'' it said, adding the action was intended to shield the country's ''vital interests involving its sovereignty and territorial integrity.''

Scandinavian cease-fire monitors policing the short quiet between the Sri Lanka dominion and the LTTE said as well-as; not only-but also; not only-but; not alone-but sides had brought the incident to their notice.

''This is a real serious matter,'' a spokesman for the monitors said. ''One of our persons are traveling to the spectacle on board another naval craft that plant off from the eastern Trincomalee base.''

The rebels have told the monitors that the sunken canal was a merchant freighter belonging to them.

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