Tag: lbo

July 15, 2007 (AFP) – Four civilians were bound and shot dead execution-style in northern Sri Lanka near the scene of heavy battles between troops and Tamil rebels, a police official said Sunday.The bodies of the four were discovered Sunday shot in the head and with their hands tied behind their backs in Vavuniya district, […]

July 14, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops used war planes and long-range weapons to attack suspected Tamil Tiger positions as fresh fighting broke out early Saturday, the defence ministry said.Fighter jets pounded suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) locations in the north of the island, where heavy artillery duels killed at least one […]

July 13 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan businessman who has just been elected president of the International Lions Organization says he hopes to help take forward the Sri Lankan peace process as an internal facilitator. Sri Lankan ‘Lion’ Mahendra Amarasuriya was recently elected as the president of the International Lions organization in Chicago. He says […]

July 11, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president Wednesday paid tribute to his security forces for capturing what he called the “last stronghold” of the Tamil Tiger rebels in the island’s restive east. President Mahinda Rajapakse in a statement welcomed the capture of the area known as Thoppigala, where the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam […]

July 11, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military said Wednesday it had captured the “nerve centre” and last Tamil Tiger jungle stronghold in the east of the island, following months of intense fighting. The claim coincided with a fresh effort by peace broker Norway, who sent a top envoy to the rebel-held northern town of […]

July 12, 2007 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels have admitted losing a key stronghold in eastern Sri Lanka to government forces and said they would revert to guerrilla tactics in the troubled region.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fighters melted away from Thoppigala, a mountainous jungle area they dominated for over 13 years, rebel […]

July 12, 2007 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels have admitted losing a key stronghold in eastern Sri Lanka to government forces and said they would revert to guerrilla tactics in the troubled region. Government forces were clearing landmines in the Thoppigala area which they captured from rebels on Wednesday, after months of heavy fighting, military […]

July 11, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops captured on Wednesday the jungle “nerve centre” of Tamil Tiger guerrillas in the east of the island after months of fighting, the defence ministry said.He said the objective of the security forces was not limited to capturing Thoppigala, but was to take full control over the multi-ethnic […]

July 10, 2007 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels in the east of Sri Lanka are showing stiff resistance and have slowed a military advance on a strategic jungle base, defence authorities here said Tuesday.The government denies carrying out attacks inside rebel-held territory. Government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters the Tiger rebels were still holed up […]

July 9, 2007 (AFP) – International peace monitors in Sri Lanka want to double their numbers as fighting between security forces and Tamil Tiger rebels intensifies, the chief monitor said Monday.The Tiger rebels are fighting for an independent homeland for the ethnic Tamil minority on the Sinhalese majority island.The Norwegian-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), […]

July 8, 2007 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels said Sunday they lost two fighters during a three-hour sea battle with the Sri Lankan Navy off the island’s eastern coast.The statement came after the defence ministry said three rebels were shot dead by naval troops in the nearby eastern coastal town of Trincomalee on Saturday. “Three […]