A pro-rebel Web site Saturday says Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers have killed 51 soldiers in fighting in the island's north.
TamilNetquotes the rebels' media unit as saying the clashes took place inDharmapuram village after the military launched an offensive thereFriday. The rebels said about 150 soldiers were wounded in the battle.
SriLanka's military rejected the rebels' account, saying just sevensoldiers were killed in fighting Friday, along with about 20 rebels.
The conflicting reports come as Sri Lankan forces bear down on the rebels' final strongholds.
The military says the Tamil separatists are now confined to a 600 square-kilometer area in the north.
Therebels have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for SriLanka's ethnic minority Tamils. They say Tamils are treated assecond-class citizens by the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000people have died in the conflict.
The International Committeeof the Red Cross says tens of thousands of Sri Lankan civilians havefled northern areas where Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tigers areengaged in fierce combat.
Red Cross officials say displacedpeople are now concentrated in such a small area that health expertsare concerned about the safety of their living conditions.
The Red Cross is the only relief organization that the Sri Lankan government allows in the conflict areas.
The government says it can handle a mass exodus of refugees.