Category: Defense

October 21, 2008 (AFP) – A massive Sri Lankan government offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels is taking longer than expected because of concern for civilians trapped in the battle zone, the country’s president said Tuesday.Mahinda Rajapakse told the state-run Daily News newspaper that his security forces were “fighting under severe constraints, to cause no harm […]

October 20, 2008 (AFP) – Dogged resistance by Tamil Tiger guerrillas appears to have held up a Sri Lankan military offensive in the north aimed at smashing the rebels’ de facto state, analysts and military sources say. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘act (space) lbo’ and send to 678 […]

October 20, 2008 (AFP) – At least 33 Sri Lankan government soldiers and 11 Tamil Tiger rebels have been killed in the latest heavy fighting in the north of the island, the defence ministry said Monday. Government forces also suffered at least 48 soldiers wounded and another three soldiers missing in the latest battles with […]

October 19, 2008 (AFP) – Troops and Tamil Tiger rebels were locked in intense fighting in northern Sri Lanka Sunday after government forces smashed through the “last major defences” of the guerrillas, the military said. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) launched “poisonous gas attacks” to blunt the military offensive aimed at capturing […]

October 17, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops captured a rebel-held town in the island’s north following heavy fighting that killed a “large” group of guerrillas, the defence ministry said Friday. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 Security forces took the town of Maniyakkulam, 25 […]

October 17, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government said Friday it would send a delegation to India to defuse mounting tensions over the escalating war against Tamil Tiger rebels.Sri Lanka’s minority Tamils share close cultural and religious links with the 55 million Tamils in the nearby South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Colombo’s military drive […]

October 16, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military on Thursday stepped up attacks against suspected Tamil Tiger positions in the island’s north and accused the rebels of blocking a UN-escorted food convoy.The UN’s World Food Programme was escorting a convoy of trucks taking essentials for hundreds of thousands of people in rebel-held areas on Thursday […]

October 15, 2008 (AFP) – Heavy fighting broke out across Sri Lanka’s northern area of Kilinochchi, leaving 37 Tamil Tiger rebels and six soldiers dead, the defence ministry said Wednesday.It said 34 rebels and 25 soldiers were also wounded in the fierce fighting that took place on several fronts on Tuesday. The Liberation Tigers of […]

COLOMBO, October 14, 2008 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan army said Tuesday it has killed 38 Tamil Tiger rebels involved in a fierce counter-attack in the island’s war-torn north. The defence ministry said its troops fought pitched battles and beat back rebel assaults along several fronts in the north on Monday. It said three government […]

October 11, 2008 (AFP) – Heavy fighting continued between troops and Tamil Tiger rebels across Sri Lanka’s war-ravaged north, with the military killing 20 guerrillas, the defence ministry said Saturday. Friday’s fighting, which took place across several northern fronts, also killed five soldiers and wounded 18, the ministry said. The latest fighting raised the number […]

October 9, 2008 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan military advance on the stronghold of the rebel Tamil Tigers in the island’s northeast triggered heavy fighting that claimed casualties on both sides, the defence ministry said Thursday. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 Ground troops backed […]

Oct 09, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s agriculture minister Maithripala Sirisena escaped an assassination attempt Thursday when a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber blew herself up near his vehicle, the defence ministry said. Police spokesman Ranjith Gunasekera said the minister was unharmed. The only fatality was the female suicide bomber. The defence ministry initially said […]