Category: Politics

March 31, 2009 (AFP) – Two months after President Mahinda Rajapakse vowed that the Tamil Tiger rebels would be defeated within days, fighting rages on in Sri Lanka at the cost of escalating military, rebel and civilian lives.Government forces who were advancing into Liberation Tigers’ of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) territory at the rate of more […]

March 31, 2009 (AFP) – In response to pressure from the United Nations Sri Lanka withdrew its troops from camps for thousands of civilians who have escaped the island’s vicious civil war, a minister said Tuesday.About 61,000 people who have fled the combat zone and are housed in a dozen “welfare camps” will instead be […]

March 30, 2009 (AFP) – At least 24 Tamil Tiger rebels and a navy sailor were killed in a major sea battle off Sri Lanka’s northeast coast on Monday, a navy spokesman said. Government forces sank four boats of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) off the coast of Mullaittivu, spokesman D.K. P. Dassanayake […]

NEW DELHI, March 28, 2009 (AFP) – A senior European official said Saturday that aid groups want to help Sri Lanka meet the humanitarian needs of civilians in the country’s battle zone and are “not against” the government.Sri Lanka hit back earlier this week against human rights and aid groups, accusing them of supporting the […]

March 29, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan government troops killed at least 46 rebels during weekend battles in the northeast of the island where they have cornered the Tamil Tiger guerrillas, the defence ministry said Sunday.Verification of battlefield claims is almost impossible as the authorities do not allow independent journalists and international observers to travel […]

March 28, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military on Saturday accused the Tamil Tiger rebels of firing at civilians fleeing fighting in the north of the country, killing one and injuring two.Amnesty said the Tigers were holding civilians hostage and were “reported to have deliberately attacked civilians that have tried to escape from areas under […]

March 26, 2009 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels have lost more of their territory in northern Sri Lanka and their total defeat is now “imminent,” a government minister said Thursday.Government troops have confined Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fighters to an area of 21 square kilometres (eight square miles), most of which is a […]

March 25, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan government troops have overrun a hideout of the Tamil Tigers’ feared intelligence chief, the defence ministry said Wednesday. But there was no sign of Pottu Amman, who along with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader Velupillai Prabhakaran is believed to have either fled the island or else […]

March 22, 2009 (AFP) – More than 1,000 civilians fled Sri Lanka’s war zone as government troops fought to wipe out separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, the military said Sunday.Of the 1,150 who escaped from rebel-controlled areas on Saturday, 108 left by boat while the others walked out through the jungle, it said in a statement. […]

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, March 21, 2009 (AFP) – India tightened security at three major airports in the southern state of Kerala after a call threatening attacks by Tamil Tiger sympathizers, police said Saturday.Extra security measures were in place at the international airports of Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode following the threat, the director general of police told AFP. […]

March 19, 2009 (AFP) – Civilians are continuing to flee Sri Lanka’s war zone as security forces step up an offensive against Tamil Tigers, with another 31 rebels killed, the defence ministry said Thursday.About 1,000 men, women and children left the area still under the control of the rebels on Wednesday to seek shelter with […]

March 19, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka will lodge strong protests with countries where there have been demonstrations in favour of the island’s separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, a minister said Thursday.Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said pro-rebel sympathisers have been staging demonstrations in Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United […]