Category: Defense

September 15, 2008 (AFP) – Fresh fighting broke out across Sri Lanka’s tense north, leaving 20 Tamil Tiger rebels and one soldier dead, the defence ministry said Monday. The ministry said 22 rebels and 14 troops were wounded in Sunday’s fighting in Weli Oya, Kilinochchi and Vavuniya. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) did […]

September 14, 2008 (AFP) – The United Nations said Sunday its aid staff were unable to comply with a Sri Lankan government order to quit the war-torn north of the island because of protests by local civilians. UN agencies say some 160,000 people have been displaced in the past few months in the districts of […]

COLOMBO, September 11, 2008 (AFP) – A bomb exploded on a railway track in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on Thursday, the second such blast in as many days, but there were no casualties, police said. The blast caused little damage to the railway line at Sedawatte, a slum area of the city, a police […]

September 10, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s move to evict relief workers from its embattled north worsens the humanitarian situation for tens of thousands of civilians who rely on aid, Amnesty International said Wednesday. The London-based rights group said the Colombo government lacked the capacity to provide basic essentials and safety for those who have […]

September 10, 2008 (AFP) – A bomb exploded on a railway track just outside Sri Lanka’s capital on Wednesday, police said, adding that there were no casualties. The blast created a small crater, but there was little damage, a police official at the scene said. There were no trains in the area at the time […]

UNITED NATIONS, September 9, 2008 (AFP) – UN leader Ban Ki-moon expressed alarm Tuesday over escalating strife between government troops and rebels in northern Sri Lanka and reminded the parties of their obligations to ensure the safety of civilians. “The secretary general expresses his deep concern over the increased hostilities in northern Sri Lanka, and […]

September 8, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka asked local and international aid workers to vacate Tamil Tiger-held territory ahead of a major military push to dismantle the rebels’ mini state, a minister said Monday.Aid officials, including UN agencies have reported that about 134,000 people were displaced from their homes in Wanni as a result of […]

September 8, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels Tuesday staged another air strike in the island’s north and carried out a long-range artillery barrage, local residents and officials said.Tens of thousands of people have died since the LTTE launched a separatist campaign in 1972 to carve out a homeland for minority Tamils in […]

Sept 09, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s air force claimed its first kill of a Tamil Tiger aircraft following a guerrilla bombing mission to the frontier town of Vavuniya, in the early hours of Tuesday.The Tamil Tigers are believed to modified operate piston-engined Czech Zlin-143 light aircraft. In the past Tiger aircraft have slipped under […]

September 8, 2008 (AFP) – At least 10 people were wounded in a minor bomb blast in Sri Lanka’s capital on Monday night, police said adding that it did not appear to be linked to the island’s drawn out ethnic conflict. The explosion inside a car at Colombo’s Gas Works’ Street was being treated as […]

September 7, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan war planes and helicopter gunships pounded suspected Tamil Tiger bases in northern Sri Lanka on Sunday, the defence ministry said. Both sides admitted heavy losses in ground battles last week. Fighter jets attacked a training camp of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at Mankulam, just south […]

September 7, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops have moved closer to dismantling the Tamil Tigers’ de facto state after months of heavy clashes with the rebels, but the battles ahead could be even bloodier, officials and analysts say.Monsoon rains expected to intensify in the coming weeks could bog down tanks and make artillery less […]