Sri Lanka's army finds rooms used to torture deserters from rebel ranks and informers. Tigers deny the cahrges.

Colombo (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Torture chambers allegedly used by Tamil Tigers to punish escaping rebels and informers, including women fighters, have been found at guerrilla camps in eastern Sri Lanka, the Defence Ministry said.

The camps were uncovered by a Special Task Force, comprising of specially trained anti-terrorist commandoes who last week seized control of four rebel bases and seven smaller camps in the eastern Ampara district, the Media Centre for National Security said in a report posted on its Web site late on Monday.

At one of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam camps “torture chambers and lockups were established to torture escapees and informers including women”, it said. The alleged torture cells were small, said the report, adding that “many of the surrendered LTTE child cadres have repeatedly revealed the harassment meted out to them by the LTTE if they are caught escaping”. One camp had a well maintained cemetery built by the rebels for their fallen cadres, said the statement.

The Tigers laughed off the accusations, saying they didn't have any bases in the area and denied torture cells existed anywhere in areas held by them.

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