Category: Politics

COLOMBO, Sept 27, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan war planes bombed a suspected Tamil Tiger training camp as the two sides exchanged artillery attacks across a de facto front line in the island’s north, the defence ministry said Wednesday. Mani Shankar Aiyar said here late Tuesday at a public lecture. Aiyar said India supported moves […]

OSLO, Sept 27, 2006 (AFP) – Norway on Wednesday welcomed an announcement by the Sri Lankan government that the leader of the Tamil Tiger rebels was committed to resuming talks on ending decades of ethnic bloodshed.“We see this as a very positive development and we are hopeful both parties will meet for talks as soon […]

Sept 26, 2006 (AFP) – An airman was killed and another wounded in northern Sri Lanka on Tuesday when a mine blew up as they underwent routine physical training exercises, the defence ministry said. More than 60,000 people have died since the rebellion began in 1972. The Claymore mine exploded in the district of Vavuniya, […]

COLOMBO, Sept 25, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s navy and Tamil Tiger rebels fought a fierce sea battle on Monday, with both sides giving conflicting casualty figures ranging from three to 70 killed. A navy vessel detected several boats of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) off the coast of Mullaitivu sparking a battle […]

COLOMBO, Sept 25, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels Monday denied forcing minority Muslims to quit a coastal town where 17 aid workers of a French charity were massacred last month. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they were not responsible for distributing leaflets among thousands of Muslims in the […]

NEW YORK, Sept 23, 2006 (AFP) – US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged her Sri Lankan counterpart here Saturday to make a concerted effort in planned peace talks with rebels from the country’s Tamil minority, a senior US official said.Meeting with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaweera on the sidelines of the UN General […]

Sept 24 (AFP) – Tamil rebels and Sri Lankan troops waged artillery duels Sunday in the embattled east, the military said, in continued fighting despite a push by Norway to restore a ceasefire ahead of talks. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fired artillery and mortar bombs at the Kiran and Vavunathivu army […]

GENEVA, Sept 22 (AFP) – International and Sri Lankan human rights campaigners on Friday called for a United Nations inquiry into abuses against civilians by Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces on the strife-torn island.They urged the UN Human Rights Council, the world body’s top watchdog forum, to launch a probe as soon as possible […]

LONDON, Sept 22, 2006 (AFP) – Britain’s foreign ministry tightened up its advice Friday to travellers in north and east Sri Lanka after at least six people were killed in the troubled area. In a review of its travel advice, the Foreign Office warned Britons not to travel to any part of the north or […]

COLOMBO, Sept 22(AFP) – At least six civilians were killed in separate incidents across Sri lanka’s embattled northeast, the defence ministry here said Friday.Security forces found the bullet-riddled bodies of three men in the Jaffna peninsula where another man had been similarly shot dead by unidentified attackers on Thursday, the ministry said. It said a […]

COLOMBO, Sept 21, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops were deployed at a Muslim town in the island’s east to quell rioting following the massacre of 10 residents, military officials said Thursday. Soldiers were deployed in the town of Pottuvil after residents clashed with local police, although an overnight curfew was eased early Thursday. “Soldiers […]

COLOMBO, Sept 20, 2006 (AFP) – The fear of bomb attacks in Sri Lanka following an upsurge in violence has spawned extra security checks, making daily life more difficult, but the hassle has also created unexpected marketing opportunities, according to advertising specialists. At road-blocks, for instance, prominent adverts for products such as the pain-killer “Panadol” […]