Lankan govt trades charges with Tigers

Another bomb went off in the northern peninsula of Jaffna on Monday but there were no casualties, military officials said. Security had been stepped up in the area following the weekend bloodshed.

The government said it "strongly condemned" the Saturday night murder of Tamils in the navy-controlled islet of Kayts and pointed a finger at the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

"Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, spokesman on security matters, said the ruthless killing of Tamil civilians could very well be a part of the LTTE strategy to divert international opinion," a government statement said.

However, the LTTE blamed the navy for killing the civilians in an area where it said the guerrillas had no access.

"The slaughter of these civilians is seen by the local people as a punishment and a warning to others for not yielding to the demand of the Sri Lankan navy," an LTTE statement said.

"They are executions to cower down the civilians."

The separatists said terrorised local residents had taken refuge in churches.

A four-month-old baby and a four-year-old child were gunned down while they slept with their parents, both of whom were also shot dead.

Nine of the victims died in one house where people had gathered for the night fearing attacks from "paramilitary" or rival Tamil groups supported by the security forces, the LTTE said, releasing gruesome pictures of the corpses.