Sri Lanka monitors blame Tigers for chopper attack

Scandinavian ceasefire monitors in Sri Lanka blamed Tamil Tigers for shooting at an unarmed military helicopter earlier this week and said the attack seriously undermined the fragile truce.











Scandinavian ceasefire monitors in Sri Lanka blamed Tamil Tigers for shooting at an unarmed military helicopter earlier this week and said the attack seriously undermined the fragile truce. The Norwegian-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) called Wednesday's shooting of a Mi-17 transport helicopter flying over the east of the island a "gross violation" of a ceasefire that went into effect in February 2002.

The aircraft was en route to pick up 21 passengers, including Italy's deputy minister of foreign affairs, the SLMM said in a statement on Saturday.

"The SLMM concludes as the small arms fire against the helicopter originated from an area controlled by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), the LTTE must bear the responsibility for the incident," the statement.

"The LTTE is urged to do all in its power to avoid similar incidents in the future, as such activity can lead to serious consequences jeopardising the ceasefire."

The Mi-17 transport helicopter took four hits from sma