Category: Defense

BRUSSELS, January 26, 2009 (AFP) – EU officials told Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama of their concern at the “humanitarian crisis” in the north of the country, especially “the rising civilian casualties in the conflict zone.” EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner underlined that “international standards must be respected” and that unrestricted access be […]

January 26, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan government troops were Monday pushing into the last pockets of jungle still held by Tamil Tigers after the capture of the rebels’ last urban stronghold and military headquarters.Soldiers on Sunday overran Mullaittivu, a northeastern coastal lagoon town that was the Tigers’ main base for more than a decade, […]

January 26, 2009 (AFP) – After a series of battlefield defeats, Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels have lost their conventional fighting capability, but analysts say they will fight on using guerrilla tactics.Once known as a ruthlessly efficient separatist group, the Tamil Tigers over three decades established a de facto mini-state which in recent weeks has […]

January 26, 2009 (AFP) – The United Nations said Monday at least 30 civilians had been killed in fighting between government forces and rebels in Sri Lanka amid a drive to root out the last pockets of Tamil Tiger resistance.The UN spokesman in Colombo, Gordon Weiss, said at least 10 civilians were killed on Monday […]

January 25, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops on Sunday fought their way into Mullaittivu, the last town held by Tamil Tiger rebels who are holed up in the northeast of the island, a government spokesman said. “For the last time, I am telling the LTTE to lay down arms and surrender,” he said in […]

January 25, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops on Sunday overran the last town controlled by Tamil rebels, army chief Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka said, striking a significant blow in Asia’s longest-running ethnic conflict. “We have completely captured Mullaittivu,” the army chief said in a televised address to the nation. The fall of Mullaittivu is […]

January 24, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan security forces captured two Tamil Tiger guerrilla camps after heavy fighting in the island’s northeast, the military said Saturday.Government forces have been steadily advancing into the remaining territory held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the coastal district of Mullaittivu. “Sri Lanka army Task Force […]

January 23, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops have advanced to a key area held by Tamil Tigers and are on the verge of destroying the rebels’ artillery, a military official said Friday.Soldiers were on the verge of taking the village of Visuamadu in the district of Mullaittivu, where Tamil Tiger rebels have been forced […]

January 22, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops have seized a Tamil Tiger command centre in the island’s north as ground troops advance further into the rebels’ remaining territory, a military official said on Thursday.Security forces found briefing rooms containing detailed maps at the facility in the district of Mullaittivu, where the Liberation Tigers of […]

January 22, 2009 (AFP) – The United Nations Thursday accused Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers of preventing its staff from leaving rebel-controlled areas in the north of the island.The UN said several of its local staff and their families were prevented from leaving Thursday with a convoy that had earlier taken food and emergency supplies to […]

January 21, 2009 (AFP) – At least two people were killed and 11 others were wounded in a roadside bomb attack in eastern Sri Lanka on Wednesday, police said.The bomb, planted on a bicycle, went off in Batticaloa, 300 kilometres (190 miles) east of Colombo, a local police official said. “A policeman and another civilian […]

January 21, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military said Wednesday its troops had opened fire on an intruding aircraft off the island’s north, where government forces are battling Tamil Tiger rebels.The unidentified aircraft was detected heading towards the island’s northeastern coast near Mullaittivu, the last town under the control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil […]