TRINCOMALEE, Sri Lanka - At least 17 Muslim civilians were killed and another 60 wounded Thursday when shells landed on the schools in which they were sheltering during fierce fighting between Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels, military officials said. The shellings, marking a bloody day for civilians in the escalating battle over water in northeastern Trincomalee district, took place in the Muslim-majority town of Muttur while troops and rebels clashed in the streets, the officials said.
At least 156 poeple have now died in fighting that began on Wednesday last week for control of a canal after the rebels shut the sluice gates and deprived thousands of families of water.
"The government must take responsibility for the killing of civilians," Muslim leader Rauf Hakeem said. "Both sides must stop the attacks immediately and go back to the positions they had before the (2002) truce."
. . .
In the capital Colombo, the government said it was ready to negotiate with the rebels to resolve their bitter water dispute. "The window is open," spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters. "If the Tigers are ready, we are ready too to start talks immediately...we do not want to go back to war." The government's media minister Anura Yapa also pledged commitment to the Norwegian-backed peace process. "We will make all endavours to make sure that the peace process is not derailed," Yapa told reporters.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/222993/1/.html 
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