Category: Politics
Muslim civilians killed as as Sri Lanka battle for water intensifies
TRINCOMALEE, Sri Lanka, Aug 3, 2006 (AFP) – At least 17 Muslim civilians were killed and another 60 wounded Thursday when shells landed on the schools in which they were sheltering during fierce fighting between Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels, military officials said.Local officials said troops had not managed to reopen the sluice […]
Peace broker Norway offers help to Sri Lanka victims
Aug 3, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s peace broker Norway Thursday announced a pledge of 1.5 million dollars to help civilians caught up in the island’s latest upsurge in violence. The Norwegian government, in a statement issued in Colombo, said Oslo would provide the assistance in humanitarian aid through the International Committee of the Red […]
Tigers open new front as battle for water claims more lives
Aug 2, 2006 (AFP) – Tiger rebels attacked three army camps and a town in Sri Lanka Wednesday, sparking fierce fighting which killed at least 47 by official count and opened new fronts in a week-long battle over water.The deaths — which now total at least 118 since Monday — have made a mockery of […]
Sri Lanka port city rocks as neighbourhood battles rage
TRINCOMALEE, Sri Lanka, Aug 2, 2006 (AFP) – The sounds of explosions in this northeastern Sri Lankan port town were more muffled Wednesday than during an intense artillery attack a day earlier, but residents found them just as scary.“We had no sleep from midnight because of the explosions at a distance,” said housewife H.P. Bandumathi, […]
Norwegian mediator calls for immediate end to Sri Lanka fighting
OSLO, Aug 2, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka peace mediator Norway on Wednesday called on the warring parties in Sri Lanka to immediately end all hostilities, which have claimed more than 100 lives in the past week.“We very strongly appeal to the two parties to stop the offensive operations immediately,” Norwegian Development Aid Minister Erik […]
Mortar bomb hits Sri Lanka hospital
Aug 2, 2006 (AFP) – At least one employee was killed when a shell hit a government hospital in northeastern Sri Lanka Wednesday during an artillery duel between troops and Tamil Tigers, officials said.The main hospital in Muttur was hit early Wednesday, killing an employee and wounding several others, a hospital source in the nearby […]
Sri Lanka army, rebels in new clash
Aug 2, 2006 (AFP)- Tamil Tiger rebels and Sri Lankan forces traded heavy artillery and mortar bomb fire in a two-hour clash Wednesday that left at least 20 civilians wounded, officials and doctors said.The battle in the northeast of the island nation marked the eighth day of heavy fighting between the two sides for control […]
47 killed in Sri Lanka fighting: military
COLOMBO, Aug 2, 2006 (AFP) – At least 40 Tiger rebels, five troopers and two civilians were killed when troops repulsed an attack by the guerrillas on army camps and the town of Muttur in northeastern Sri Lanka Wednesday, the defence ministry said. “During the whole incident, troops attacked the terrorists in retaliation causing them […]
Tigers hit Sri lanka’s main naval port as battle for canal heats up
Aug 1, 2006 (AFP) – Tiger rebels shelled Sri Lanka’s main navy base Tuesday, killing four sailors and wounding 30, while warplanes bombed guerrilla positions as a bloody battle for a disputed waterway entered a seventh day. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) used 122-millimeter artillery to target the base at Trincomalee as […]
‘s main naval port as battle for canal heats up
Aug 1, 2006 (AFP) – Tiger rebels shelled Sri Lanka’s main navy base Tuesday, killing four sailors and wounding 30, while warplanes bombed guerrilla positions as a bloody battle for a disputed waterway entered a seventh day. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) used 122-millimeter artillery to target the base at Trincomalee as […]
Sri Lanka on the brink after 67 killed in new violence
Aug 1, 2006 (AFP) – The truce between Sri Lanka’s warring parties was stretched to breaking point Tuesday after one of the bloodiest days in the island’s recent history left at least 67 soldiers and Tamil rebels dead.The Tamil Tigers have been waging a violent secessionist campaign since the 1970s to secure an independent homeland […]
Sri Lankan war planes pound rebels after bus blast
Aug 1, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan warplanes and artillery pounded Tiger rebel positions Tuesday after one of the bloodiest days in the island’s recent history left 67 combatants dead and made a mockery of a ceasefire.The Tamil Tigers have been waging a violent secessionist campaign since the 1970s to secure an independent homeland in […]