Category: Defense

November 16, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president on Monday promoted his air force commander to be the country’s top military officer to replace General Sarath Fonseka who quit following a rift with the government, an official said.Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonetileke, 53, was made the new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) from Monday in […]

November 5, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president has announced an immediate salary increase for all members of the country’s armed forces amid plans to boost the strength of the security services.President Mahinda Rajapakse granted the unspecified salary increase during a visit Wednesday to the island’s northern regions, which were recently wrested from Tamil rebel […]

November 4, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military commander left the United States ahead of possible questioning over alleged war crimes committed during the defeat of the island’s Tamil rebels, a legislator said Wednesday.General Sarath Fonseka headed back to Sri Lanka without facing questioning by the Department of Homeland Security later in the day, Samantha […]

WASHINGTON, November 2, 2009 (AFP) – The United States was tightlipped Monday about Sri Lanka’s visiting top military commander, after the island said US authorities planned to grill him over alleged war crimes.Sri Lanka summoned the US ambassador to demand the Department of Homeland Security drop with what the island’s government said were plans to […]

SINGAPORE, November 3, 2009 (AFP) – A Singaporean opposition party member will be extradited to the United States and tried for allegedly trying to supply arms to Sri Lanka’s defeated Tamil Tiger rebels, officials here said Tuesday.Businessman Balldev Naidu, 47, is facing six charges including conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation […]

November 2, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka summoned the United States ambassador in Colombo on Monday to protest over US plans to quiz the island’s military commander about alleged war crimes, a report said.The report covered the period from January — when fighting intensified — until the end of May, when Sri Lankan troops defeated […]

November 2, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka protested Monday against plans by US officials to quiz its top military commander over alleged war crimes committed during the final months of the war with Tamil Tiger rebels.The US plan to interview Fonseka followed the recent publication of a US State Department dossier outlining allegations of serious […]

OTTAWA, October 22, 2009 (AFP) – One of 76 migrants arrested on a rusted ship off Canada’s Pacific Coast is wanted in Sri Lanka on terror charges, a source close to the investigation said Thursday.The 26-year-old man, whose identity was withheld due to a court-ordered publication ban, is being sought by Sri Lankan authorities who […]

Oct 10, 2009 (LBO) – The Indian and Sri Lankan navies held a three-day joint exercise in the seas off Colombo earlier this week to train officer cadets and practice manoeuvres for maritime security operations.The manoeuvres included flights by an Indian navy light helicopter which dropped supplies on two Sri Lankan navy patrol vessels to […]

October 9, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has raised its defence expenditure by another 20 percent this year following its military victory over separatist Tamil Tiger rebels. Parliament late Thursday approved an additional 33 billion rupees (287 million dollars) to pay for hardware and beef up security in former conflict zones. At the beginning of […]

October 3, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police on Saturday arrested a soldier from a bomb disposal unit over the bombing of a school van which killed a student and wounded 12 others, an official said.The soldier was taken into custody following Friday’s attack in Kurunegala, 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of the capital Colombo, […]

October 2, 2009 (AFP) – An explosion ripped through a school bus in northwestern Sri Lanka on Friday, killing one girl and wounding 11 other students and their driver, police said. The incident took place in Kurunegala district, 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of the capital Colombo, a police spokesman said, adding an investigation was […]