Category: Defense

Aug 15 (AFP) – Sri Lanka Tuesday stepped up security in Colombo after an unprecedented bomb attack on a diplomat, while all schools were shut amid fears of Tamil Tiger reprisals for an air raid that killed dozens of children. Police said new parking restrictions were put in place in the capital after a Claymore […]

Aug 15 (AFP) – The fiercest fighting between Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels for four years appears to be an attempt by both sides to gain the upper hand before eventual peace talks, analysts say.The Sri Lankan government ordered the closure of schools fearing rebel reprisals against school children elsewhere in a move […]

Aug 15(AFP) – A bid to assassinate Pakistan’s envoy to Sri Lanka was triggered by plans for Islamabad to ship new arms to the island to battle Tamil rebels, a government spokesman said Tuesday. A similar push was launched by the Tigers Friday, according to the defence ministry, which said the military managed to resist […]

ANURADHAPURA, Sri Lanka, Aug 14, 2006 (AFP) – Lying wounded at a Sri Lankan hospital near an airforce base, Sergeant W.D. Anand is upset the government may renew peace talks with Tamil rebels after fierce battles that cut down many of his men.“I don’t know what they are saying in Colombo. We just want to […]

COLOMBO, Aug 14, 2006 (AFP) – Heavy close-range fighting erupted in Sri Lanka’s besieged northern Jaffna peninsula on Monday after two days of shelling, officials said, a day after fresh peace moves were shot down.The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were using human waves to pound army defence lines in the peninsula, an […]

COLOMBO, Aug 14, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger guerrillas said Monday that 61 schoolgirls at an orphanage and 15 civilians huddled in a church have been killed in air and artillery attacks by Sri Lanka’s military.Air force jets hit a “Senchcholai”, an orphanage run by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in the northeastern […]

Aug 14 – (LBO) A powerful blast ripped through the Colombo suburb of Kollupitya Killing seven people including military officials, residents and police said.At least four of the dead appear to be military officials, hospital sources said. The Police Special Task spokesman told a local television station that a car bomb in a 3-wheeler had […]

COLOMBO, Aug 14, 2006 (AFP) – Pakistan’s top envoy escaped a mine blast which killed seven people here Monday as Tamil Tiger rebels accused Sri Lanka of bombing an orphanage and killing 61 amid ferocious battles elsewhere. The intense fighting cut off Jaffna, where residents were fleeing the violence and were displaced within the peninsula, […]

COLOMBO, Aug 13, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s northern Jaffna peninsula has been cut off from the rest of the island as hundreds of residents try to flee heavy fighting in the area, military officials said.Fighting that started on Friday and continued through the weekend has cut the main road connecting government-held regions of the […]

COLOMBO, Aug 13, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels fought ground battles and artillery duels Sunday as the weekend death toll rose to 186 and the rebels denied they were ready to talk peace.Heavy fighting that started on Friday had cut off the northern Jaffna peninsula, a military official said, where […]

COLOMBO, Aug 13, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels traded artillery fire Sunday, a day after at least 177 people were killed in fierce battles, officials said, amid fears of a return to full-scale war.Security forces shelled positions held by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as sporadic face-to-face […]

COLOMBO, Aug 13, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels waged artillery and ground battles Sunday as the weekend death toll rose to 186 by official count, but both sides said they were willing to talk peace.Policy Planning Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) made an overture […]