Category: Defense
Sri Lanka police find haul of land mines
Aug 4, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police Friday found a large haul of land mines and grenades and arrested two men who were transporting the cargo deep into a plantation in the island’s south, officials said.Police found 18 Claymore mines, 15 hand grenades, three automatic assault rifles and 100 detonators hidden inside a truck […]
Norway in talks to save Sri Lanka from full-scale war, Muslims flee
Aug 4, 2006 (AFP) – Norway launched high-level talks Friday in a bid to pull Sri Lanka back from all-out war as thousands of Muslims fled the bloodiest fighting in four years that has claimed nearly 170 lives.Peace broker Oslo sent special envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer who immediately went in for talks with Prime Minister Ratnasiri […]
Rights group says Sri Lanka pullout “devastating”
HONG KONG, Aug 3, 2006 (AFP) – A rights watchdog said Thursday that Nordic countries pulling their peace monitors out of Sri Lanka had dealt civilians a “devastating blow” and called for nations to send replacements.“With the dramatic increase in violence in Sri Lanka, more international monitors are needed, not fewer,” said Brad Adams, Asia […]
Norway launches new peace bid as Sri Lankan fighting spreads
Aug 3, 2006 (AFP) – Fighting between Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels for control of a vital waterway spread Thursday, as peace broker Norway launched a fresh bid to prevent a return to full-scale war. Local officials said troops had not managed to reopen the sluice gates as the area is heavily mined. […]
‘s ethnic conflict
Aug 3, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s long conflict between the government and ethnic Tamil rebels is rooted in the nation’s colonial past, but the bloodshed remains an intractable problem of the present.At least 60,000 people are believed to have been killed since 1972 when a disgruntled school dropout, Velupillai Prabhakaran, formed the militant group […]
Fresh violence claims another 21 lives in Sri Lanka
Aug 3, 2006 (AFP) – Seventeen civilians and four police were killed in artillery attacks in Sri Lanka’s northeastern Muslim town of Muttur on Thursday, military officials said.The civilians were killed when shells hit three schools where they were sheltering after security forces asked them to move to public buildings while troops mopped up Tamil […]
Muslim civilians killed as as Sri Lanka battle for water intensifies
TRINCOMALEE, Sri Lanka, Aug 3, 2006 (AFP) – At least 17 Muslim civilians were killed and another 60 wounded Thursday when shells landed on the schools in which they were sheltering during fierce fighting between Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels, military officials said.Local officials said troops had not managed to reopen the sluice […]
Peace broker Norway offers help to Sri Lanka victims
Aug 3, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s peace broker Norway Thursday announced a pledge of 1.5 million dollars to help civilians caught up in the island’s latest upsurge in violence. The Norwegian government, in a statement issued in Colombo, said Oslo would provide the assistance in humanitarian aid through the International Committee of the Red […]
Mortar bomb hits Sri Lanka hospital
Aug 2, 2006 (AFP) – At least one employee was killed when a shell hit a government hospital in northeastern Sri Lanka Wednesday during an artillery duel between troops and Tamil Tigers, officials said.The main hospital in Muttur was hit early Wednesday, killing an employee and wounding several others, a hospital source in the nearby […]
Sri Lanka army, rebels in new clash
Aug 2, 2006 (AFP)- Tamil Tiger rebels and Sri Lankan forces traded heavy artillery and mortar bomb fire in a two-hour clash Wednesday that left at least 20 civilians wounded, officials and doctors said.The battle in the northeast of the island nation marked the eighth day of heavy fighting between the two sides for control […]
47 killed in Sri Lanka fighting: military
COLOMBO, Aug 2, 2006 (AFP) – At least 40 Tiger rebels, five troopers and two civilians were killed when troops repulsed an attack by the guerrillas on army camps and the town of Muttur in northeastern Sri Lanka Wednesday, the defence ministry said. “During the whole incident, troops attacked the terrorists in retaliation causing them […]
Tigers open new front as battle for water claims more lives
Aug 2, 2006 (AFP) – Tiger rebels attacked three army camps and a town in Sri Lanka Wednesday, sparking fierce fighting which killed at least 47 by official count and opened new fronts in a week-long battle over water.The deaths — which now total at least 118 since Monday — have made a mockery of […]