Category: Politics

TRINCOMALEE, Sept 12(AFP) – A policeman was shot dead and six people were hurt in a bomb attack in Sri Lanka on Tuesday after weekend fighting between government and rebel forces left 185 combatants dead, officials said.The injuries occurred when a parcel bomb exploded as a police vehicle drove by in Trincomalee town, police said, […]

Sept 12, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has agreed to expand the peace monitoring mission in the war-torn country to include observers from other countries after Tamil Tiger rebels expelled European Union member states, an official said Tuesday. Defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said the island’s main financial backers meeting in Brussels on Tuesday were expected […]

Sept 12, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Tuesday agreed to a key concession to try to save the collapsing ceasefire as foreign aid donors were set to rap the island’s warring parties over escalating bloodshed.Diplomats said the SLMM would possibly include nationals from Switzerland and New Zealand.Sri Lanka defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said the […]

BRUSSELS, Sept 12, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s warring parties have agreed to unconditional peace talks next month, the battle-scarred country’s international dialogue partners announced in Brussels on Tuesday.The decision by the government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was discussed at a meeting of the island’s main foreign aid donors here, […]

Sri Lanka peace talks set for October: Norway Sept 12, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government and the Tamil Tiger rebels have agreed to “unconditional peace talks” in the first week of October, top Norwegian peace broker Erik Solheim told AFP Tuesday. The decision by the government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam […]

Sept 11, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tigers traded artillery fire across the island’s northeast Monday, a day after the guerrillas accused the government of sabotaging a new peace effort.The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) hit an army camp in the east of the island using long-range mortar fire, and […]

Sept 10, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka said Sunday that its troops had killed scores of Tamil Tiger rebels in fierce weekend fighting in the northern Jaffna peninsula that also left 28 soldiers dead. Mortar and artillery duels along a de facto frontline on the contested peninsula killed the 28 and left 125 wounded, a […]

Sept 10, 2006 (AFP) – Troops and Tamil Tigers fought fierce battles in northern Sri Lanka Sunday, leaving scores killed, officials said as the rebels accused Colombo of ignoring moves by Norway to end the latest bloodshed.The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they were in talks with peace broker Norway to withdraw […]

Sept 9, 2006 (AFP) – At least 26 troops were killed and over 125 wounded Saturday in new fighting as Tamil rebels resisted an army advance into guerrilla-held territory in northern Sri Lanka, military sources said.Hundreds of Sri Lankan troops were involved in the offensive along the de facto border between government- and rebel-held areas […]

Sept 8, 2006 (AFP) – Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels placed a body in a booby-trapped taxi that exploded Friday in northern Sri Lanka, wounding six people, police said. The blast occurred in the town of Vavuniya, 255 kilometres (160 miles) north of the capital Colombo, with a police officer and four school children among the […]

Sept 8, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s peace broker Norway came under a scathing attack from the media here Friday amid diplomatic moves to inject new life to a collapsing ceasefire.The state-run Daily News said Norwegians had “failed” as peacebrokers and took exception to reported remarks from Norwegians that they disagreed on an international crackdown […]

Sept 7, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger fighters shot dead at least two civilians in Sri Lanka’s troubled Jaffna peninsula, the defence ministry said Thursday, a day after the rebels warned of retaliatory strikes.Two others were wounded in Wednesday night’s attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the ministry said. There were also […]