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Tamil Tiger units force closure of wildlife park

One of Sri Lanka's biggest tourist attractions, the Yala National Park, has been closed to visitors after a series of encounters between armed gangs and holidaymakers.

The popular wildlife sanctuary, which is home to several of the world's most endangered species, has been the scene of increasing rebel Tamil Tiger activity in recent months, according to official reports.

'The rebels are operating in small units in the area, in which they can move around freely. They haven't harmed any tourists, but recent incidents mean we can no longer guarantee the safety of visitors,' a senior police officer said.

In the latest encounter, 13 tourists on safari in Yala were stopped by a group dressed in battle fatigues and brandishing automatic weapons. The tourists and their guide were questioned at gunpoint and then released.

A security sweep is under way to clear the park of any Tamil Tiger units, who military officials say have been filtering south into the sanctuary to escape another clearing operation by the Government in the eastern Trincomalee district.

But although the security forces hope to reopen the park within a few days, its closure has come as another setback to the beleaguered tourism industry in Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile in Colombo, police believe they have smashed the Tamil separatist rebels' intelligence ring in the city following the arrest of two of its top operatives.

Police said the husband and wife team, arrested in the city's Bambalapitiya area, had been running the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Colombo spying operation for more than three years.

The safe house they had been living in had been equipped with sophisticated telecommunications equipment and computers and had been used to communicate with the rebel hierarchy in the northeast of the island, as well as international Tiger headquarters in Paris, police said.

The suspected woman Tiger had been a self-employed teacher providing tuition to several students in the Bambalapitiya area.

Tamil guerillas shot dead five soldiers and lost seven of their own men in fresh violence in the north and east of the country, military officials said.

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