Category: Defense
ICRC says relief effort fails in Sri Lanka
Aug 4, 2006 (AFP) – The International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday it had failed to get relief to thousands of civilians trapped by fierce fighting between Sri Lankan forces and Tamil Tiger rebels.“We have not been able to achieve the humanitarian corridor we wanted to establish for us to move freely and […]
Muslims flee as Sri Lanka warring parties shut out foreign aid
TRINCOMALEE, Sri Lanka, Aug 4, 2006 (AFP) – Thousands of civilians clambered onto bull-drawn carts, tractors and other rickety vehicles Friday to flee fighting between Sri Lankan troops and Tigers in a Muslim fishing town, witnesses said.Women and children were the first to escape the town of Muttur, just a few kilometres (miles) from the […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Sri Lanka port city rocks as neighbourhood battles rage
TRINCOMALEE, Sri Lanka, Aug 2, 2006 (AFP) – The sounds of explosions in this northeastern Sri Lankan port town were more muffled Wednesday than during an intense artillery attack a day earlier, but residents found them just as scary.“We had no sleep from midnight because of the explosions at a distance,” said housewife H.P. Bandumathi, […]
Norwegian mediator calls for immediate end to Sri Lanka fighting
OSLO, Aug 2, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka peace mediator Norway on Wednesday called on the warring parties in Sri Lanka to immediately end all hostilities, which have claimed more than 100 lives in the past week.“We very strongly appeal to the two parties to stop the offensive operations immediately,” Norwegian Development Aid Minister Erik […]