Category: Politics

Sept 10, 2006 (AFP) – Troops and Tamil Tigers fought fierce battles in northern Sri Lanka Sunday, leaving scores killed, officials said as the rebels accused Colombo of ignoring moves by Norway to end the latest bloodshed.The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they were in talks with peace broker Norway to withdraw […]

Sept 9, 2006 (AFP) – At least 26 troops were killed and over 125 wounded Saturday in new fighting as Tamil rebels resisted an army advance into guerrilla-held territory in northern Sri Lanka, military sources said.Hundreds of Sri Lankan troops were involved in the offensive along the de facto border between government- and rebel-held areas […]

Sept 8, 2006 (AFP) – Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels placed a body in a booby-trapped taxi that exploded Friday in northern Sri Lanka, wounding six people, police said. The blast occurred in the town of Vavuniya, 255 kilometres (160 miles) north of the capital Colombo, with a police officer and four school children among the […]

Sept 8, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s peace broker Norway came under a scathing attack from the media here Friday amid diplomatic moves to inject new life to a collapsing ceasefire.The state-run Daily News said Norwegians had “failed” as peacebrokers and took exception to reported remarks from Norwegians that they disagreed on an international crackdown […]

Sept 7, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger fighters shot dead at least two civilians in Sri Lanka’s troubled Jaffna peninsula, the defence ministry said Thursday, a day after the rebels warned of retaliatory strikes.Two others were wounded in Wednesday night’s attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the ministry said. There were also […]

TRINCOMALEE, Sept 7, 2006 (AFP) – Thousands of Muslims who fled their homes in this coastal district began returning home Thursday as fighting between troops and Tamil Tiger rebels died down, officials said.Some 85 busses transported refugees within this district from relief centres in Kantalai and take them to their homes in the Muslim fishing […]

Sept 6, 2006 (AFP) – A French charity announced Wednesday it was drastically scaling down its operations following allegations that government troops were responsible for the massacre of 17 of its employees.Action Against Hunger (Action contre la Faim or ACF) said it was reducing its number of staff by 60 to 70 percent and stopping […]

COLOMBO, Sept 6, 2006 (AFP) – Norway’s top envoy sought to salvage Sri Lanka’s peace process in talks with Tamil Tigers on Wednesday as the rebels vowed retaliation for heavy bombing that led to the capture of a key town. “There is no particular agenda, but obviously today’s situation will be discussed,” Erik Ivo Nurnberg […]

Sept 06 (LBO) – The Central Bank said Wednesday it would extend a freeze on all bank accounts of the charity, Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) by six months to investigate alleged terrorist links, following an order from Sri Lanka’s High Court. All banking transactions of the TRO were suspended over the weekend, freezing 75 million […]

Sept 6, 2006 (AFP) – At least two Sri Lankan soldiers were killed and 13 others wounded Wednesday in clashes with Tamil Tiger rebels in the country’s restive north-east, military officials said.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) shelled military positions at Maavilaru village in Trincomalee district where security forces on Monday regained control of […]

Sept 5 (AFP) – Hundreds of Sri Lankan troops worked Tuesday to clear mines and booby-trapped devices from a town they captured from Tamil Tiger guerrillas after weeks of fighting, military officials said. Fighting in Sri Lanka has intensified since December, shattering hopes for the ceasefire to continue and leaving more than 1,500 dead, according […]

TRINCOMALEE, Sri Lanka, Sept 5, 2006 (AFP) – Security forces and Tamil Tiger rebels traded mortar bomb attacks in this Sri Lankan port district Tuesday, a day after the military captured a nearby rebel artillery base. The rebels accused the military of sparking the latest fighting and said their forces were still holding Sampur’s eastern […]