Category: Politics

Oct 16, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka suffered its worst ever suicide attack on Monday when suspected Tamil Tiger rebels detonated a truck packed with explosives next to a convoy of sailors, killing at least 102 people and wounding 150 more.More than 60,000 people have been killed in the three-decades-old conflict for a Tamil homeland […]

Oct 16, 2006 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan war plane crashed Monday shortly after take off on a mission to attack Tamil Tiger rebels, official sources said adding that pilot ejected and there were no casualties on the ground.The Israeli-built Kfir jet crashed shortly after take off from the main Katunayake airbase which is located […]

Oct 15, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s navy sank a suspected Tamil Tiger trawler Sunday along the island’s northwest coast, killing at least four people, after the ship opened fire on patrol craft, military sources said.Naval patrols had ordered the trawler to stop before it fired on the government boats, a source said, adding that […]

Oct 15, 2006 (AFP) – The Tamil Tigers’ pummeling of Sri Lankan troops has proved that, despite apparent battlefield setbacks, they are still a force to be reckoned with ahead of peace talks later this month, analysts say. In just six hours last Wednesday, the Tigers turned back a government push into their territory, deftly […]

Oct 15, 2006 (AFP) – Japanese peace envoy Yasushi Akashi was expected in Sri Lanka Sunday for talks with government and rebel leaders amid fears that the island is veering dangerously close to all-out war.His arrival follows reports of overnight shelling and other bloodshed that capped off one of Sri Lanka’s most violent weeks since […]

Oct 14, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan army jets dropped 48 bombs on a village in Tamil Tiger-controlled territory on Friday, a pro-rebel website said, amid ongoing violence in the troubled northeast.Japan, Sri Lanka’s main financial backer, was also sending special peace envoy Yasushi Akashi to the island on Sunday to meet with the government […]

Oct 14, 2006 (AFP) – The bodies of 15 aid workers massacred in Sri Lanka will be exhumed next week in a fresh bid to determine who killed them, their French employer said Saturday as sporadic fighting continued in the troubled north of the island.The aid victims were among 17 mostly Tamil workers with the […]

HELSINKI, Oct 14, 2006 (AFP) – The European Union on Saturday urged Sri Lanka’s leaders and the Tamil Tiger rebels to end fierce fighting which threatens peace talks due this month, after a week of raging violence there.“The presidency urges the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to ensure that humanitarian aid deliveries be […]

VAVUNIYA, Sri Lanka, Oct 13, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military and the Tamil rebels opened a new front in the east after a fierce battle in the north killed 130 soldiers, casting a shadow over peace talks later this month. More than 60,000 people have been killed in the three-decades-old conflict. Troops and the […]

WASHINGTON, Oct 11, 2006 (AFP) – The United States said it was “deeply concerned” Wednesday by intense fighting in Sri Lanka that has jeopardized new efforts to revive a peace agreement between the government and minority Tamil rebels.McCormack said Washington was working closely with its fellow co-chairs “to find a way forward to an end […]

Oct 12, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels inflicted heavy losses on Sri Lankan troops in fierce fighting that reportedly killed 244 combatants and wounded over 430, dashing peace hopes, officials said Thursday.Some 60,000 people have been killed overall in the three-decades-old conflict between minority Tamils seeking an independent homeland and government forces. Defence officials […]

Oct 12, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s cabinet announced Thursday they had stopped drawing their salaries with immediate effect as the government was set to raise its defence spending by 45 percent.Media Minister Anura Yapa told reporters that cabinet agreed to draw only allowances they were entitled to and not accept the salaries paid to […]