Colombo, Sep 10 (DPA) Fighting between the government troops and Tamil rebels continued in Sri Lanka amid mounting casualties on both sides, military officials said Sunday.

The military confirmed that 28 soldiers were killed and 120 more were injured in the fighting at Muhamalai, 370 km of the capital, since Friday.

It also claimed that at least 115 rebels were also killed in the fighting, which erupted after rebels fired mortars and artillery at the forward defence lines, but the rebels claimed that so far only four of their cadres had been killed since Friday.

A spokesman for the military said that the army had moved into rebel-controlled areas south of Muhamalai and taken control of the first bunker line of the rebels during operations on Saturday.

But a rebel spokesman was quoted in the pro-rebel Tamil website as saying the army had not been able to advance.

The government said the renewed fighting was due to rebel mortar and artillery attacks, but other military sources said the operation was launched by the security forces to take control of rebel positions close to the army forward-defence lines.

Fighting between government forces and Tamil rebels during the past eight weeks in the north and east has left over 1,900 dead.