Category: Politics
Sri Lanka troops rescue 5,000 civilians: military
April 20, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan security forces captured a defence line of cornered Tamil Tiger rebels on Monday and rescued at least 5,000 civilians being held as human shields, a military spokesman said.Soldiers took control of the three-kilometre (two-mile) embankment at Puthumathalan, inside the government-designated “no-fire” zone, spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said. “We captured […]
35,000 civilians flee Tiger area: Sri Lanka president
April 20, 2009 (AFP) – More than 35,000 civilians Monday fled the last area under the control of Sri Lanka’s cornered Tamil Tigers, President Mahinda Rajapakse said, adding that the rebels’ “complete defeat” was imminent. Showing aerial video from a military spy plane over the tiny area where the Tigers are staging a last stand, […]
Civilian exodus spells defeat for Tigers: Sri Lanka president
April 20, 2009 (AFP) – Tens of thousands of civilians on Monday escaped from the area still held by Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers, signalling that the rebels’ “complete defeat” was imminent, President Mahinda Rajapakse said. Showing AFP aerial video from a military spy plane over the tiny area where the Tigers are staging a last […]
Sri Lanka calls for world pressure on Tamil Tigers
April 20, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s top defence official has called on the international community and the United Nations to put pressure on Tamil Tiger rebels to lay down arms and surrender.He said the latest influx of refugees from the small strip of land remaining under rebel control showed the civilians wanted to escape […]
Sri Lanka war zone: 3,000 civilians flee, military says
April 19, 2009 (AFP) – Nearly 3,000 civilians escaped from Sri Lanka’s war zone and sought shelter with security forces, the defence ministry said Sunday as troops stepped up an offensive against cornered Tiger rebels.The non-combatants escaped Saturday evening from the remaining area under the control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the […]
Britain wants swift UN Sri Lanka report
LONDON, April 18, 2009 (AFP) – Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Saturday he would ask UN chief Ban Ki-moon’s top aide to report to the Security Council “immediately” on his return from strife-torn Sri Lanka. Miliband said he was “gravely concerned” about the conflict there, while insisting that the government was listening to protesters […]
Sri Lanka Tiger chief not seen as troops close in
April 19, 2009 (AFP) – As Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war moves into what appears to be a bloody end game, all eyes are on a small strip of coastal jungle, looking for signs of the elusive leader of the Tamil Tigers. The rotund rebel chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, a 54-year-old with decades of experience surviving […]
Australian Tamils call off hunger strike
SYDNEY, April 18, 2009 (AFP) – Tamil protesters who staged a seven-day hunger strike outside the Australian prime minister’s home said Saturday they had ended their protest following assurances their demands had been heard. “Australia continues to call on the Sri Lankan government to put forward credible political reforms to engage Tamils and other minorities […]
Sri Lanka keeps up offensive despite calls for fresh truce
April 18, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops on Saturday kept up their offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels cornered in the northeast, the defence ministry said, ignoring mounting international appeals for a ceasefire.The island’s government accused the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of firing heavy artillery and mortars from an area it has designated […]
Top UN official in Sri Lanka
UNITED NATIONS, April 16, 2009 (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon has dispatched a top aide to Sri Lanka to try to ease the plight of tens of thousands of civilians trapped by fighting between government forces and Tamil separatists, a UN spokesman said Thursday. Farhan Haq told AFP that Vijay Nambiar, Ban’s chief staff, […]
Sri Lanka has chance to end conflict: US
WASHINGTON, April 16, 2009 (AFP) – The United States on Thursday urged an immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka to save thousands of trapped civilians, saying the Colombo government had a chance to finally end three decades of war. “We call upon the government and military of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers to immediately stop […]
UN calls for pause in Sri Lanka fighting to allow aid in
GENEVA, April 17, 2009 (AFP) – The United Nations on Friday renewed its call for a pause in fighting between Tamil Tiger rebels and government troops in order to allow civilians trapped by the conflict to flee.“UNICEF is calling for a ceasefire and for a humanitarian pause which allows humanitarian workers to access the conflict […]