Category: Politics

June 14, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tigers clashed with Sri Lankan soldiers who were laying mines deep within rebel territory, killing at least one trooper but losing two of their own, a pro-rebel website said Wednesday. A unit of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Tuesday confronted the military personnel who had infiltrated guerrilla-held […]

June 13, 2006 (AFP) – Traffic was held up along a highway in Sri Lanka’s main city of Colombo Tuesday following a bomb hoax, police said. An anonymous caller had warned of a bomb at a state bank building in the city but a search turned up nothing, a police official here said. Last month, […]

OSLO, June 12, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera on Monday accused the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of intransigence after the recent breakdown in talks between the two sides.The rebels on Thursday aborted a two-day meeting in Oslo with Colombo representatives arranged by Norway to discuss the safety of […]

June 12, 2006 (AFP) – One soldier was killed and five civilians wounded Monday in two mine blasts in northern Sri Lanka as troops exchanged fire with Tamil Tiger rebels, the military said.More than 60,000 people have been killed in Sri Lanka’s drawn out Tamil separatist conflict in the past three decades.The soldier was killed […]

June 12, 2006 (AFP) – Air Vice Marshal Roshan Goonetileke took command of Sri Lanka’s air force Monday, 25 years after his father retired from the post.Goonetileke, 50, inspected an honour guard before being handed the command at a ceremony in Colombo. Among those attending was Goonetileke’s father, retired air vice marshal Harry Goonetileke, 76, […]

June 11, 2006 (AFP) – Hopes for peace in Sri Lanka have all but vanished after peace broker Norway’s failure to bring the opposing parties to the table, diplomats say.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) refused to negotiate with Sri Lanka’s government last week after travelling to Oslo. Diplomatic sources say Norway is now […]

June 11, 2006 (AFP) – At least five people were shot dead in Sri Lanka’s restive northeast port district of Trincomalee and the main city of Colombo at the weekend, military officials said Sunday.In the northeast, two wood-cutters were shot dead at Manirasakulam while two people, including a student, were gunned down in nearby Muttur […]

June 11, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels Sunday accused international rights watchdogs of remaining silent over the killings of 24 children allegedly by government forces. More than 680 people have died over the past six months despite a four-year truce between government forces and the LTTE in an ethnic conflict that has […]

STOCKHOLM, June 10, 2006 (AFP) – Norway said Saturday it would continue to act as peace broker between Sri Lanka and Tamil Tiger rebels despite the recent breakdown in talks between the two sides, which had thrown its role into doubt. The rebels on Thursday aborted a two-day meeting in Oslo with Colombo representatives arranged […]

OSLO, June 8, 2006 (AFP) – Norway on Thursday officially declared talks between Sri Lanka and Tamil Tigers to improve the security of foreign ceasefire observers a failure, blaming the rebels for the breakdown.The separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Sri Lankan representatives were to hold direct talks for the first time since […]