Category: Politics

Jan 9, 2007 (AFP) – The United States Tuesday urged a speedy political solution to Sri Lanka’s separatist conflict as the island slipped into more violence, and warned that a military solution was not possible.“According to government estimates, 15,000 people are isolated without access to food or basic supplies, as stocks are decimated.” The US […]

Jan 8, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka Monday stepped up security on public transport across the country after two weekend bomb attacks killed 21 passengers and wounded about 120, police said. Passengers were forced to line up for security checks before boarding buses and trains that bring in about 70 percent of the one million […]

Jan 8, 2007 (AFP) – The United Nations Monday condemned weekend bomb attacks on bus passengers in Sri Lanka and and called on the combatants in the island’s ethnic conflict to ensure civilian safety in battle zones. “The United Nations calls for the protection of all civilians throughout the island,” the statement said. The bus […]

Jan 5, 2007 (AFP) – Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels set off a powerful explosion aboard a bus, killing at least five people and wounding 50 others near Sri Lankan capital Colombo, defence ministry said. A bomb ripped through the passenger bus driving between Nittambuwa and Giriulla during the evening rush hour on the Colombo-Kandy highway. […]

Jan 5, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan air force jets conducted a fourth straight day of raids Friday against Tamil Tiger positions in the north of the island, a military spokesman said. Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said a dawn raid by Israeli-built Kfir jets “completely destroyed” a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) base at Wilawattai […]

JAKARTA, Jan 5, 2007 (AFP) – Indonesian police have captured a Sri Lankan wanted in the United States for allegedly smuggling arms for use in terrorist attacks in New York, police said Friday. Pratheepan Thavarajah, 32, was arrested on Thursday at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta just as he was boarding a flight to Kuala […]

Jan 5, 2007 (AFP) – At least four people were killed and 50 wounded in a bus blast near Sri Lankan capital Colombo, police said Friday.A bomb ripped through the passenger bus driving between Nittambuwa and Giriulla during the evening rush hour on the main Colombo-Kandy highway. The bus immediately caught fire, eye witnesses said. […]

Dec 24, 2006 (AFP) – The Iraqi skipper of a cargo vessel that ran aground near Tamil Tiger-held territory in Sri Lanka asked Red Cross officials on Sunday to arrange the crew’s return home, the guerrillas said. The Jordanian-registered Farha III ship ran aground in northeastern Sri Lanka late Saturday, sparking a war of words […]

Dec 23, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels said Saturday they had rescued 25 sailors from a crippled Jordanian ship off Sri Lanka’s northeastern coast, dismissing government allegations they had staged a “pirate attack”.The vessel, identified as the Farha III, was believed to be crewed by Jordanian and Egyptian nationals and was carrying 14,000 tonnes […]

Dec 21, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops have arrested 15 Tamil Tiger rebels who pretended to be civilians fleeing the embattled eastern region ahead of a major military offensive, officials said Thursday. The men were detained while the security forces screened some 22,000 civilians who fled the Vakarai area in the eastern district of […]

COLOMBO, Dec 21, 2006 (AFP) – Armed men have kidnapped 16 boys and three girls in eastern Sri Lanka, a pro-rebel website reported Thursday, as Tiger guerrillas admitted a “mistake” in conscripting 21 others. The Tamilnet.com website said members of the breakaway Tiger faction known as the “Karuna group”, which is allegedly backed by the […]