Category: Defense

September 5, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has imported equipment to speed up mine clearing in the former war zone in the island’s north, the defence ministry said Saturday. The mine-clearing machines imported from Slovakia would be used to accelerate resettlement of people driven out of the area during the height of fighting, the ministry […]

September 3, 2009 (AFP) – A group of former child soldiers from Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels have won jobs on construction sites in Malaysia after undergoing re-training, the government here said Thursday.The seven men were among hundreds of former child soldiers who surrendered in the months before government troops finally defeated the Tigers in […]

August 26, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military on Wednesday said a disturbing video clip broadcast in Britain allegedly showing its troops executing prisoners was a fabrication designed to “discredit” its armed forces.The footage, aired by Channel 4 in Britain, was apparently shot during the final stages of the army’s defeat of Tamil Tiger separatists, […]

August 20, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military is to send more troops to clear land mines in areas recently wrested from Tamil rebel control so that civilians can return to their homes, the top army officer said Thursday. Jayasuriya said his aim was to support a massive reconstruction effort in areas once held by […]

August 19, 2009 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan government plans to keep up record defence spending despite its recent victory over Tamil rebels that ended nearly four decades of fighting, a senior official said. Defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse said the military needed to be modernised and payments made on hardware bought on credit. Sri Lanka […]

Aug 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s new coast guard has begun setting up bases and will get vessels from the navy for initial patrol work to protect ocean resources and for maritime security, its director-general Daya Dharmapriya said. The coast guard will get vessels for both offshore and inshore patrolling and also intends to […]

August 7, 2009 (AFP) – The new head of the defeated Tamil Tiger separatist group was being interrogated in Sri Lanka Thursday, having been flown here following his capture in Thailand, reports said. Selvarasa Pathmanathan, better known as K.P., was brought back to Sri Lanka on Thursday and was being questioned at an undisclosed location, […]

July 30, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka plans to offer education and vocational training for about 20,000 former Tamil Tiger rebels, including child soldiers and operatives trained as suicide bombers, an official said Thursday.Nearly 300,000 people who were displaced by the ethnic conflict are still held in camps under military guard. The government insists that […]

July 19, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops have recovered a submarine-type craft built by Tamil Tiger guerrillas in an area where they fought their final battle two months ago, the military said Sunday.The craft was found on Saturday submerged about 500 metres (yards) off the coast of Vellamullivaikal in the district of Mullaittivu, the […]

July 17, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s new navy commander said he wants to expand the fleet and increase troop strength to better protect the island from maritime threats and ensure the Tamil Tiger insurgency does not recur.Thisara Samarasinghe said that although the Tigers were defeated in May, winning the war did not mean the […]

July 15, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s new army chief took up his post Wednesday vowing to “re-motivate” his 200,000-strong force and build a peacetime military following the crushing of Tamil Tiger rebels.Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, 50, said his first priority would be the military’s new role in supporting a massive reconstruction effort in areas […]

July 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has cancelled orders for 200 million US dollars of military hardware and ammunition from China, after a 30-year war with Tamil Tiger separatists ended, a top official said.Fonseka said soldiers in areas like northern Jaffna found it difficult to take leave at the current strength. “If we want […]