mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> In the north, seven soldiers were killed in an ambush, while several other skirmishes left nine rebels dead. Meanwhile, parliament continued to wrangle with the governments proposal to adopt a federal form of government. This is proving to be difficult, as many Sri Lankans do not want to grant Tamils autonomy. Some Sri Lankans feel that the Tamils will eventually seek to partition the island nation. Major opponents to the government proposals are Buddhists and Marxists (there is a strong communist party in Sri Lanka.)