Category: Politics

SINGAPORE, June 3, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military has rooted out Tamil Tiger rebels from the east of the country in an offensive that complements efforts to seek a negotiated solution to the conflict, the country’s foreign minister said Sunday.“With the exception of a few jungle hideouts, most of the Eastern Province of Sri […]

June 3, 2007 (AFP) – Gunmen claiming to be police have abducted and shot dead two Red Cross employees in Sri Lanka barely a week after the country pledged greater security for aid workers, the charity told AFP Sunday.The Geneva-based charity said the bullet-riddled bodies of S.Shanmungaligam and K. Chandramohan were discovered late Saturday in […]

June 3, 2007 (AFP) – The Tamil Tiger rebels said Sunday they had killed at least 10 Sri Lankan army troops in attacks on military defences and materiel, as Japan readied a fresh bid to quell the spiralling violence.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they had launched a “commando style” attack against military […]

June 2, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s media minister has condemned the attack on a photo journalist of a Sri Lankan daily and has asked security forces to respect the accreditation issued by his ministry, the Department of Government Information (DGI) said. The DGI which accredits journalists, quoting Mass Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardana says […]

June 2, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s air force on Saturday bombed suspected rebel Tamil Tiger targets located in a jungle in the island’s east, the defence ministry said. The conflict has killed more than 5,000 people in the past 18 months. Fighter jets bombed the jungles of Thoppigala in the eastern district of Batticaloa […]

June 1, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president is ready to resume peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels even as security forces are locked in combat with the guerrillas, a presidential spokesman said Friday.President Mahinda Rajapakse would enter negotiations with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) if the guerrillas agreed to resume where they […]

COLOMBO, June 1, 2007 (AFP) – Hundreds of minority Tamils have been asked to leave Sri Lanka’s capital and return to their villages, some in conflict areas, because they are a “threat to national security,” police said Friday. Police Inspector-General Victor Perera said Tamils from the embattled northern and eastern provinces were spending long periods […]

May 31, 2007 (AFP) – Government forces kept up two offensives against Tamil Tiger rebels in the island’s northern and eastern regions Thursday with casualties reported on both sides, officials said. More than 60,000 people have been killed in the conflict. Troops backed by artillery combed the jungles of Thoppigala in the district of Batticaloa, […]

May 30, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s investors, international donors and lenders are watching with alarm as government fighting against Tamil Tiger rebels escalates and key economic targets come under attack, analysts say.There appears little space to manoeuvre unless the separatist conflict subsides.Roadside blasts Monday and last Thursday around Colombo killed 11 people and wounded […]

May 29, 2007 (AFP) – Key Sri Lankan aid donors Tuesday announced the government had offered security guarantees for their workers who have been accused by state media and ministers of supporting Tamil Tiger rebels.The 10-point “guiding principles” for security followed talks with the government after the killing of 17 workers from a French aid […]

May 29, 2007 (AFP) – Security forces and police stepped up security in the Sri Lankan capital on Tuesday after suspected Tamil Tiger rebels set off a roadside bomb killing seven civilians, officials said. All vehicles entering Colombo were subjected to individual searches by heavily armed troops and police, a police spokesman said. The move, […]

May 28, 2007 (AFP) – Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels set off a roadside blast near an air force base just outside Sri Lanka’s capital Monday, killing at least seven people and wounding 39, police and doctors said.More than 5,000 people have been killed in a new wave of fighting since December 2005 despite a truce […]