Category: Politics

July 23, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka Sunday stepped up its already tight security arrangements in the capital as Tamil Tiger rebels marked “Black July,” or the 23rd anniversary of anti-Tamil riots here, police said.Police and troops set up more road blocks and tightened security at key installations amid fears that the Liberation Tigers of […]

COLOMBO, July 21, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels Friday rejected a call from Sweden to reconsider a September 1 deadline for truce monitors from European Union member states to quit, a pro-rebel website said. The Tamilnet.com website said Tigers told a visiting Swedish envoy that ceasefire monitors from EU member states Denmark, […]

COLOMBO, July 21, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels Friday rejected a call from Sweden to reconsider a September 1 deadline for truce monitors from European Union member states to quit, a pro-rebel website said. Deaths are reported almost daily, mainly in the island’s troubled northeast where troops and rebels clash and where […]

July 19, 2006 (AFP) – Sweden Wednesday launched a fresh effort to salvage Sri Lanka’s troubled truce as ceasefire monitors reported at least 900 people killed in a surge of ethnic violence since December.Swedish envoy Andres Oljelund met Sri Lankan officials here and was set to hold discussions with Tamil Tiger rebels ahead of a […]

July 19, 2006 (AFP) – At least 900 people have been killed in a surge of violence in Sri Lanka since December that has left a four-year-old Norwegian-brokered truce in tatters, a monitoring official said Wednesday.Clashes between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels erupted soon after the election late November of President Mahinda Rajapakse. A […]

July 19, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police have arrested a suspected Tamil suicide bomber and three would-be accomplices in President Mahinda Rajapakse’s home constituency, the defence ministry said Wednesday.The woman, whose identity was not disclosed, had undergone training with the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), defence ministry spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said. “We […]

July 19, 2006 (AFP) – Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels set off a powerful mine in northern Sri Lanka on Wednesday, killing two security personnel and wounding 15 people, a military official said.The blast hit a bus transporting troops and police in the Jaffna peninsula, military spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said. “An officer and a soldier were […]

July 18, 2006 (AFP) – A civilian has been killed and 13 people wounded in separate bomb explosions while two civilians were shot dead in Sri Lanka’s troubled northeast regions, military officials said Tuesday.The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) exploded a mine while soldiers were on routine patrol in the Jaffna peninsula, a […]

COLOMBO, July 17, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels set off three powerful mines in Sri Lanka’s troubled regions Monday, killing a soldier and wounding 12 other servicemen, the defence ministry said. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) set off one mine in the Jaffna peninsula, killing a soldier and wounding six others, […]

July 16, 2006 (AFP) – July 16, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka pressed for the release of a soldier captured by Tamil Tiger rebels following a heavy mortar duel at the weekend that killed at least 16 combatants, officials said Sunday.The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) returned the bodies of 12 soldiers killed […]

July 15, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels Saturday returned the bodies of 12 Sri Lankan soldiers killed by them in the island’s restive east, officials said.The fighting around the rebel-dominated village of Vakaneri was described by Sri Lankan government officials as the worst single incident since a June 17 sea battle in which 15 […]

July 15, 2006 (AFP) – A Tamil rebel official was discharged from hospital here Saturday after treatment for a heart problem and was provided with security as he returned to a guerrilla-held area, officials said.Velayudam Dayanidi, better known as Daya Master, the media coordinator of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was admitted to […]