Category: Politics

September 8, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka asked local and international aid workers to vacate Tamil Tiger-held territory ahead of a major military push to dismantle the rebels’ mini state, a minister said Monday.Aid officials, including UN agencies have reported that about 134,000 people were displaced from their homes in Wanni as a result of […]

September 8, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels Tuesday staged another air strike in the island’s north and carried out a long-range artillery barrage, local residents and officials said.Tens of thousands of people have died since the LTTE launched a separatist campaign in 1972 to carve out a homeland for minority Tamils in […]

Sept 09, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s air force claimed its first kill of a Tamil Tiger aircraft following a guerrilla bombing mission to the frontier town of Vavuniya, in the early hours of Tuesday.The Tamil Tigers are believed to modified operate piston-engined Czech Zlin-143 light aircraft. In the past Tiger aircraft have slipped under […]

September 7, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan war planes and helicopter gunships pounded suspected Tamil Tiger bases in northern Sri Lanka on Sunday, the defence ministry said. Both sides admitted heavy losses in ground battles last week. Fighter jets attacked a training camp of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at Mankulam, just south […]

September 7, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops have moved closer to dismantling the Tamil Tigers’ de facto state after months of heavy clashes with the rebels, but the battles ahead could be even bloodier, officials and analysts say.Monsoon rains expected to intensify in the coming weeks could bog down tanks and make artillery less […]

September 6, 2008 (AFP) – At least 24 Tamil Tigers were killed in fresh fighting as Sri Lankan troops struggled to dismantle the guerrillas’ mini-state in the island’s embattled north, the government said Saturday.The rebels were killed Friday in three separate battle areas, the defence ministry said in a statement, adding that one government trooper […]

September 4, 2008 (AFP) – Government forces and Tamil separatists were locked in heavy combat in northern Sri Lanka with at least 26 rebels killed in fresh fighting, the defence ministry said Thursday. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 Six soldiers were wounded and another […]

September 2, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan forces have captured the key town and Tamil Tiger bastion of Mallavi in the north of the island following heavy fighting that killed 37 people, the defence ministry said Tuesday. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 Security forces […]

September 2, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military on Tuesday ordered the jailing of 305 army deserters who failed to return to their units during an amnesty period, the defence ministry said.The men were sentenced to jail terms ranging from three months to one year following court martial proceedings, the ministry said. “Those deserters have […]

August 30, 2008 (AFP) – A bomb went off in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on Saturday, wounding at least 30 people, police and hospital sources said. A package left near a fruit vendor exploded in Pettah, the main commercial hub of the capital, police said, adding that the blast was also near the main […]

August 30, 2008 (AFP) – A powerful bomb ripped through a busy commercial area of Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo on Saturday, wounding 45 people, police and doctors said.The bombing in Colombo’s Pettah area came a day after Tiger rebels accused government forces of setting off a roadside bomb and killing two civilians inside guerrilla-held territory. […]

August 28, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Thursday appealed to minority ethnic Tamil civilians living in the line of fire in rebel-held towns to move to areas under government control, saying it would guarantee them safe passage. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 Defence […]