COLOMBO, May 31, 2006 (AFP) - Government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels exchanged artillery fire and mortar bomb attacks Wednesday along a de facto front line in northern Sri Lanka, the two sides said.

The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the military exchanged long-range attacks along the Muhamalai front line in the Jaffna peninsula, the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com website said.

It said the military had retreated from some of their frontline positions and the Tigers had advanced a "significant distance." However, the military spokesman here Prasad Samarasinghe denied any rebel advance.

"We have not moved back an inch," Samarasinghe said adding that security forces had successfully repulsed a dawn attack by the Tigers.

Samarasinghe said the main entry and exit point for civilians going to the government-held part of the Jaffna peninsula remained open despite the early morning fighting.

There were no immediate reports of casualties on either side.

Earlier this month, the military briefly shut the "frontier post" following a similar artillery exchange.

The clashes came despite a truce that has been in place since February 2002. Attempts by peace broker Norway to save the ceasefire from collapsing completely remain inconclusive.

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