Category: Politics
” Sri Lanka fighting
WASHINGTON, April 9, 2009 (AFP) – International mediators of the conflict that has pitted separatist Tamil Tigers against government forces in Sri Lanka on Thursday called for both camps to cease their “futile” fighting. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) should “permit freedom of movement for the civilians” trapped in the strife-hit northern part […]
” operation for trapped civilians
April 10, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s army announced Friday it had launched an operation to bring to safety thousands of civilians trapped by fighting with Tamil Tiger rebels. The defence ministry statement came as a New York-based human rights group said civilian casualties were “skyrocketing” in the island’s northeast where the rebels have been […]
Sri Lanka Tigers threat to Gandhis on poll trail: report
NEW DELHI, April 9, 2009 (AFP) – Indian security officials have warned that the ruling party’s leader and her family could be targeted by Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers ahead of this month’s national polls, a report said.Her son, federal MP and Congress general secretary Rahul, was slated to address rallies in southern India over the […]
Rights group slams Sri Lanka over murder probe
April 9, 2009 (AFP) – An international media rights group said Thursday there was a “lack of political will” in Sri Lanka to identify the killers of an anti-establishment newspaper editor. The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders accused Sri Lankan authorities of dragging out the probe into the murder of Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickrematunga, who […]
Scuffles as British police end all-night Tamil demo
LONDON, April 7, 2009 (AFP) – British police moved in Tuesday to end an overnight protest by Tamils over alleged rights abuses in Sri Lanka, triggering brief scuffles, an AFP reporter said. Four lifeboats were scrambled after some of the protestors reportedly threatened to throw themselves into the nearby River Thames. One person did enter […]
Sri Lanka says 111 Tigers killed in fresh fighting
April 4, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops advancing on the last remaining pockets of rebel resistance killed at least 111 Tamil Tigers in separate ground and sea clashes on Saturday, the military said. His visit to Sri Lanka came as UN chief Ban Ki-moon again urged Tamil rebel leaders to allow trapped civilians to […]
Sri Lanka says over 420 Tigers killed in latest battles
April 5, 2009 (AFP) – At least 420 Tamil Tiger rebels were killed in three days of clashes in northeast Sri Lanka, the military said on Sunday, as troops moved to wipe out the guerrillas after decades of conflict. Tens of thousands of civilians would soon be rescued from the no-fire zone, army chief Lieutenant […]
Sri Lanka Tigers urged to free civilians
UNITED NATIONS, April 3, 2009 (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Friday urged Tamil rebel leaders to allow trapped civilians to move freely out of the conflict area of northern Sri Lanka.Earlier Friday, Sri Lankan troops captured a key village from the Tamil Tigers after heavy fighting that left at least 44 guerrillas dead […]
Sri Lanka troops take key village, kill 44 Tigers: military
April 3, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan security forces captured a key village from Tamil Tiger rebels on Friday after heavy fighting that left at least 44 guerrillas dead, a military spokesman said. At the height of their power in the mid-1990s, the Tigers controlled more than a third of the total land mass of […]
Sri Lanka govt says key rebel supply route closed
April 2, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan government forces have cut off an essential supply route to Tamil Tiger rebels trapped in the jungle, the defence ministry said Thursday.The Tiger guerrillas are battling to hold back a military assault that has pushed them into a 21 square kilometre (eight square mile) patch of land in […]
Sri Lanka summons Norwegian envoy over alleged Tiger call
April 2, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka said Thursday it had summoned Norway’s envoy to complain about the Nordic country’s alleged role in arranging a telephone conversation between Tamil Tiger rebels and a UN official. Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona said the government voiced its “displeasure” over the call supposedly arranged last week between UN humanitarian […]
‘s son wounded: military
April 1, 2009 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran’s eldest son was wounded in battle against Sri Lankan security forces, military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said on Wednesday.Prabhakaran’s location is uncertain, though the Tigers say their leader is still with his men as they try to stave off defeat at the hands of […]