Suspected Tamil rebels kill Sri Lankan soldier in north

Suspected Tamil rebels kill Sri Lankan soldier in north

Suspected Tamil rebel snipers shot and killed a Sri Lankan soldier in the country's north, the military said Thursday, in surging violence that threatens to plunge the island nation back into full-scale civil war.

The killing occurred late Wednesday in Muhamalai, the entry point to government-controlled northern Jaffna peninsula, military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe said. Jaffna is 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of capital, Colombo.

Violence since the beginning of April has killed at least 271 people, imperiling the shaky 2002 cease-fire between the Tamil Tigers and the government.

The cease-fire accord halted 19 years of open warfare between the minority Tamil rebels and the majority Sinhalese-dominated government, reports the AP.

I.L.