Category: Defense

May 25, 2006 (AFP) – Deadly mine attacks and a bomb scare in Sri Lanka’s capital Thursday brought home the challenge faced by a Norwegian envoy who was set to arrive to salvage peace talks and a tattered ceasefire. Peace broker Oslo’s top envoy Erik Solheim, due to arrive Friday for talks with President Mahinda […]

May 25, 2006 (AFP) – The Tamil people are preparing for war and nobody can defeat them, a top Sri Lankan rebel military commander was quoted as saying Thursday.Colonel Jeyam, of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was quoted by the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com website at a memorial ceremony for another senior rebel commander who […]

May 25, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s twin-tower World Trade Centre banned vehicles Thursday fearing a car bomb attack by Tamil separatist rebels, police and tenants of the complex said.As part of stepped-up security measures, the 39-storey office complex in the heart of Colombo blocked all vehicles from entering, Colombo’s police chief Pujith Jayasundara said. […]

May 24, 2006 (AFP) – Three security personnel died in a mine blast Wednesday, the Sri Lanka military said, as a Norwegian peace envoy arrived to salvage a collapsing ceasefire that has sparked mounting international concern.Oslo’s number two peace emissary, Jon Hanssen-Bauer, arrived Wednesday and will be joined by the country’s top peace envoy Erik […]

KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka, May 23, 2006 (AFP) – Peacebroker Norway is “extremely concerned” about the high level of violence in Sri Lanka, Oslo’s ambassador said Tuesday after meeting a top Tamil guerrilla leader. “We are extremely concerned and I think it’s very important that international and diplomatic attention continues to be on the high levels […]

COLOMBO, May 23, 2006 (AFP) – The European Union on Tuesday demanded action against those responsible for bombing three international charities operating in Sri Lanka’s embattled northeast. The EU said the Sri Lankan government must demonstrate its commitment to ending a “culture of impunity” by bringing to justice those responsible for Sunday’s grenade attacks which […]

May 23, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels Tuesday rejected a call by Buddhist and Christian clergy for a direct meet between the president and the guerrilla leader in a bid to end decades of ethnic bloodshed. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they told a delegation of priests that […]

MUHAMALAI, Sri Lanka, May 23, 2006 (AFP) – A narrow strip of land in Sri Lanka’s northern peninsula of Jaffna is a flashpoint that could ignite a new war in the country, according to senior military commanders. “Tension is very high, very high,” the officer told AFP on Monday.“Anytime, this can accelerate.” In the past […]

May 22, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels on Monday accused government forces of killing a senior field commander in the island’s restive eastern region at the weekend, a pro-rebel website said.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said their chief intelligence operative in the region — identified as Ramanan — was gunned […]

May 22, 2006 (AFP) – A United Nations agency Monday condemned the bombing of international aid agencies in Sri Lanka and said it was appalled by the continuing “despicable attacks”. The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sri Lanka said grenade attacks on three non-governmental organisations in the Trincomalee district Sunday injured one international staff […]