The military in Sri Lanka said Thursday that 399 Tamil Tiger rebels have been killed in clashes with government troops in the north so far in April.

Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, the military spokesman, told reporters that 34 soldiers have also been killed while 236 soldiers injured in this period.

Nanayakkara added that 16 civilians were killed and 83 civilians were injured in the violence.

The spokesman said 75 civilians have crossed over to the government controlled areas in the north from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held regions so far this month totaling the number to 308 since January.

The Army is currently engaging the rebels in at least three different fronts in the north aimed at crushing the rebel group.

The government claims that the LTTE are now confined to just two districts in the north as the rebels have been completely evicted from the Eastern Province.

But analysts say the present military campaign may extend over a longer period with the rebels expected to put up stiff resistance than it was the case in the Eastern Province.

More than 70,000 people have died in the island's separatist armed conflict since the mid-1980s.

(Xinhua News Agency April 18, 2008)