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The Sri Lankan government has asked its troops to observe a ceasefire during the Vesak festival on May six and seven.
"Generally, our forces observe ceasefire during festivals and would not launch any offensive," a senior defence official said on Friday adding the truce has nothing to do with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) demand.
During the Sinhala-Tamil new year celebrations in April, the defence ministry had asked its commanding units to suspend all operations for four days from April 13.
Meanwhile, eight rebels were killed in skirmishes in the north-east on Thursday.
A military spokesman on Friday admitted that the army lost 244 personnel, including 18 'Missing in Action' in the aborted Agni Khiela operation on April 25.
While 460 security personnel were wounded, another 500 received minor injuries.
He put the LTTE casualty at around 300.
UNI
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