More than 1000 civilians were displaced, two soldiers and a civilian were killed in Sri Lanka's eastern battle front with the Tamil Tiger rebels, officials said Sunday.

Clashes erupted between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE) rebels and the government troops in the eastern port district of Trincomalee since early morning Saturday.

Both sides exchanged heavy artillery and mortar fire with rebels firing from Vakarai, the area under their control.

Officials from the Media Center for National Security (MCNS) said that clashes were still going on as of Sunday morning.

The heavy fire which landed on the majority Sinhala community villages of Somapura, Sirimangalapura, Serupura and Mahindapura in the multi-ethnic district forced the evacuation of 1450 civilians to Kantalai, MCNS officials said.

Kantalai, the Sinhala majority community settlement, 218 km east of Colombo, was the scene of refugee camps for some 25,000 civilians who had fled from Muttur, a town south of the strategic Trincomalee harbor when the clashes took place early August.

Military officials said the civilians injured on Saturday were sent to the hospitals at Kantalai and Kurunegala.

The LTTE sources said that the troops had advanced well into their territory and the retaliatory fire had caused the deaths of at least five soldiers with no casualties to them.

They claimed that military mortars and artillery had landed on at least two refugee camps in areas under their control killing several civilians.

On Thursday rebel gun fire had landed on a school in the region killing at least four including a teacher which drew a condemnation from the U.S. government.

Clashes erupted as the Norwegian peace facilitators had once gain failed to end the deadlock between the two sides.

The international community has been appealing to both sides to stop violence and return to talks.

Source: Xinhua