Category: Politics

Oct 22, 2007 (LBO) – Up to nine Sri Lankan servicemen and 20 Tamil Tiger rebels were killed during the Tiger air and ground attack on the Anuradhapura Sri Lanka Air Force airbase in the early hours of Monday, military officials said Two Mi-24 air force attack helicopters were badly damaged in the Tiger attack […]

Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) – An elite Tamil Tiger suicide squad backed by light aircraft on Monday attacked a key Sri Lankan military base in an unprecedented ground and air assault, killing at least five soldiers. The rebels said 21 members of their “Black Tiger” unit and two light aircraft struck the Anuradhapura air base […]

COLOMBO, Oct 20, 2007 (AFP) – More than a dozen suspected Tamil Tiger rebels were killed in fresh fighting in the island’s embattled north, the defence ministry said Saturday.The military fired at a group of Tamil Tiger rebels who tried to break through the northern defence lines in Mannar on Saturday, killing eight, it said. […]

COLOMBO, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) – Experts on counter terrorism have urged Sri Lanka’s government to capitalise on recent victories against the Tamil Tigers and try to hammer out a political solution to the long-running ethnic war. Earlier this year, government forces managed to eject the ethnic rebels from their last stronghold in the east […]

Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) – An international counter-terrorism expert Thursday urged Sri Lanka’s warring parties to return to the negotiating table to end decades of bloodshed.Gerard Chaliand said Colombo’s military push was not the answer to the rebels’ violent campaign for autonomy for minority Tamils in the island’s north and east. “I believe generally, terrorist […]

Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military said Thursday its troops killed 41 suspected Tamil Tigers in renewed clashes in the island’s north, although the rebels said some of the victims were civilians.The Sri Lankan navy fired early Thursday at a cluster of Tamil Tiger boats off the northwest coast. They recovered an abandoned […]

Oct 18, 2007 (LBO) – The Free Media Movement (FMM), a Sri Lankan media watchdog, Thursday sharply criticised heavy-handed action by military personnel in censoring media coverage of an accident involving a truck carrying ammunition. It said in a statement that the state security forces had censored media and deleted photos taken by photojournalists on […]

COLOMBO, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military said Thursday that its troops killed 27 suspected Tamil Tigers in renewed clashes in the island’s north, although the rebels dismissed some incidents as attacks on civilians.The Sri Lankan navy fired early Thursday at a cluster of Tamil Tiger boats off the northwest coast. They recovered […]

Oct 17, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has been ranked at the bottom of a world media freedom index prepared by Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based international non-governmental organization that advocates media freedom. The island is ranked 156th, ahead of Iraq and behind Libya, among 169 countries covered in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007. […]

Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has put off re-opening its most popular wildlife sanctuary by another week after Tamil Tiger rebels overran an army post inside the park, officials said Wednesday.The Yala National Park, a popular tourist destination in the island’s southeast and home to leopards, elephants and migratory birds, will open after […]

Oct 17, 2007 (LBO) –Experts on combatting terrorism are due to meet in Sri Lanka to share their experience on how democratically elected governments can face future challenges, a senior minister said Wednesday. The three-day meeting, which opens on Thursday, will also discuss how governments could counter international terror networks, foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama said. […]

Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) – At least six government troops were killed when Tamil Tiger rebels attacked a military position inside Sri Lanka’s main wildlife sanctuary, military officials said Tuesday.The bodies of the six men were found at first light Tuesday following an overnight attack on an army detachment inside the Yala National Park in […]