Category: Politics

Jan 22, 2007 (AFP) – An Indonesian chief engineer was wounded in a suspected suicide bombing of a cargo vessel off Sri Lanka’s northern coast, a spokesman for the ship’s owners said Monday.The merchant vessel, the MV City of Liverpool, was attacked off the Jaffna peninsula late Sunday by Tamil Tiger suicide bombers, according to […]

COLOMBO, Jan 22, 2007 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels shot dead two soldiers and two policemen in Sri Lanka’s embattled northeast as security forces dug in at a town seized from the guerrillas, the defence ministry said Monday.The two soldiers were shot on Sunday night in the eastern district of Batticaloa, where troops captured the […]

Jan 19, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan security forces Friday captured the main rebel stronghold in the island’s embattled eastern province after weeks of heavy fighting, the defence ministry said.z The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fled the town of Vakarai in the face of the military advance, the defence ministry said in a […]

Jan 18, 2007 (AFP) – A soldier and a civilian were killed in fresh violence in Sri Lanka’s north as troops and Tamil Tiger rebels traded mortar fire in the restive east, the defence ministry said Thursday.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) killed one soldier with a rocket-propelled grenade fired at troops manning a […]

COLOMBO, Jan 17, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tigers counted heavy losses Wednesday after a day of intense fighting, as police commandos reported capturing another rebel base.Casualty tolls varied wildly from a maximum of 85 to a minimum of 16 combatants dead on both sides during Tuesday’s battles. The long-range artillery exchanges […]

Jan 16, 2007 (AFP) – At least 30 Tamil rebels and 11 security personnel were killed in Sri Lanka on Tuesday in an upsurge of violence, officials and the defence ministry said. Sri Lankan troops backed by warplanes launched a fresh offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels early Tuesday, killing at least 30 guerrillas for the […]

COLOMBO, Jan 16, 2007 (AFP) – Commandos in Sri Lanka have found “torture chambers” used by the Tamil Tiger rebels to punish informants and deserters, the country’s defence ministry said Tuesday.The STF said one trooper was wounded in its recent offensive and claimed that a large number of rebels were killed or wounded during the […]

Jan 16, 2007 (AFP) – Commandos in Sri Lanka have found “torture chambers” used by the Tamil Tiger rebels to punish informants and deserters, the country’s defence ministry said Tuesday. Special Task Force (STF) commandos found the chambers at a rebel camp in the eastern district of Ampara during a nine-day offensive, which ended at […]

Jan 16, 2007 (AFP) – A landmark deal between Sri Lanka’s ruling party and the main opposition to bring a political solution to the island’s ethnic conflict collapsed Tuesday as fighting escalated, officials said.Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe met President Mahinda Rajapakse and urged him not to bring opposition lawmakers into the cabinet, a move the […]

Jan 15, 2007 (AFP) – Government forces killed at least five Tamil Tiger rebels during long-range artillery exchanges in Sri Lanka where six civilians were also shot dead, military officials said Monday.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam targeted army positions in the eastern district of Batticaloa on Sunday and troops retaliated killing three guerrillas, a […]

Jan 14, 2007 (AFP) – At least five soldiers and six civilians were killed in Sri Lanka as Tamil Tiger rebels and government troops traded long-range artillery fire in the island’s restive east, officials said Sunday. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fired artillery at army positions in Mankerni in the district of […]

Jan 13, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military has been called out to help relief operations in the island’s flood-hit regions where at least 16 people have been killed, the National Disaster Management Centre said Saturday. Military helicopters were deployed to send food for marooned people in the central and and southern regions, which were […]