10 Escaping Guerrillas Killed in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Ten suspected Tamil guerrillas were shot to death Friday when they tried to escape from a military camp, the government said.

The National Security Ministry described them as “terrorist suspects” and said they were attempting to escape the camp at Seruwila in the eastern Trincomalee district.

Tamil rebels are fighting for a separate state in the north and east of the island nation off the southern tip of India. The mostly Hindu Tamils, who form about 18% of Sri Lanka’s 15 million people, accuse the predominantly Buddhist Sinhalese majority of discriminating against them. In the past month, more than 120 people have died in clashes involving rebels, security forces and civilians. About 2,000 have died in the last two years.