Category: Defense

April 25, 2009 (AFP) – The flood of wounded civilians from the conflict in Sri Lanka is overwhelming doctors and nurses in hospitals near the war zone who said Saturday people risk dying from lack of proper attention. A British surgeon working for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), Paul McMasters, said his team in the state-run […]

KILINOCHCHI, April 24, 2009 (AFP) – The leader of Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers is trapped in a small strip of coastal jungle in the northeast and leading his last remaining fighters, a top army commander said Friday.Journalists flown to Kilinochchi were shown a large haul of mortars and small arms said to have been captured […]

April 24, 2009 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan court on Friday released a Tamil newspaper editor who had been detained over alleged links to Tamil Tiger air attacks in the capital, an official said.Nadesapillai Vidyatharan, who edits the Sudar Oli daily, was detained in February under anti-terrorism laws, but police told the Colombo Fort Magistrate […]

April 23, 2009 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels encircled in a tiny strip of land by Sri Lankan government troops are continuing to put up stiff resistance despite calls for their surrender, the military said Thursday. The army said the guerrillas controlled just 10-12 square kilometres (around four square miles) of territory on the northeast […]

BRUSSELS, April 23, 2009 (AFP) – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon ordered Thursday the immediate despatch of a humanitarian team to northern Sri Lanka, where thousands of civilians are trapped by fighting between troops and rebels.“I intend to immediately despatch a UN humanitiarian team to the no-fire zone,” he told reporters in Brussels, after a […]

UNITED NATIONS, April 22, 2009 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka must surrender and allow civilians trapped in the battle zone to leave, the UN Security Council president said Wednesday.“We demand that the LTTE immediately lay down arms, renounce terrorism, allow a UN-assisted evacuation of the remaining civilians in the conflict area, and […]

OTTAWA, April 21, 2009 (AFP) – Up to 30,000 Tamil protestors stepped up pressure on the Canadian government on Tuesday, clogging the capital for a 15th day in a row to demand it try to broker a ceasefire in Sri Lanka.Screaming “no more genocide,” beating drums heard throughout downtown, waving fists in the air and […]

April 22, 2009 (AFP) – US and Red Cross officials pleaded for the lives of tens of thousands of civilians trapped in Sri Lankan jungle Wednesday as government troops pressed a relentless offensive against Tiger rebels.The apparent end game in Sri Lanka has triggered protests around the world, with up to 30,000 Tamil demonstrators clogging […]

April 22, 2009 (AFP) – Nearly 82,000 civilians have escaped from the shrinking patch of territory still controlled by the Tamil Tiger rebels, defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said Wednesday.He said 81,420 men, women and children were counted as they registered with security forces since fleeing the remaining rebel-held coastal jungle area Monday and Tuesday.He did […]

April 22, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s cornered Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran will not be eligible for amnesty, having “spurned” an offer to surrender, the island’s president said.President Mahinda Rajapakse said the guerrilla leader, whose Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are fighting to prevent complete defeat after being pushed to a narrow stretch […]

April 22, 2009 (AFP) – Two key Tamil Tiger officials surrendered Wednesday as Sri Lankan troops pressed a final offensive against the rebels despite an international outcry over the fate of trapped civilians.Among the top rebels who turned themselves in was the Tigers’ main mouthpiece to the outside world, their chief spokesman Velayudam Dayanidi, better […]

April 21, 2009 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan army on Tuesday captured more territory from the Tamil Tigers ahead of the expiry of a government deadline for the rebels to surrender, the defence ministry said.The defence ministry has given Tiger supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran and his fighters until 0630 GMT Tuesday to surrender. Advancing government troops […]