Tag: lbo
Sri Lanka toll climbs amid heavy shelling
COLOMBO, March 17, 2007 (AFP) – Government troops and Tiger rebels traded artillery attacks in northern Sri Lanka Saturday as the overnight toll rose to at least six soldiers and a rebel killed, officials said.More than 4,000 people have been killed in a new wave of fighting since December 2005 despite a truce that has […]
Sri Lankan troops kill suspected suicide bomber
COLOMBO, March 16, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops Friday shot dead a suspected Tamil Tiger rebel suicide bomber in the northern district of Jaffna, the defence ministry said.Army personnel had come across the suspected guerrilla wearing a jacket packed with explosives while manning a road block at Savalkattu junction around Friday afternoon. The suspect […]
Sri Lanka Freedom Party sacks rebel strongman from home turf
Mar 16, 2007 (LBO) – The ruling has party has sacked rebel parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera from the leadership of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) in his home district of Matara in southern Sri Lanka an official said. General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena told LBO that the decision taken yesterday was unanimous and Dulles Alahapperuma has […]
Reforms to end Sri Lankan conflict ready next month: FM
WASHINGTON, March 14, 2007 (AFP) – Constitutional reforms aimed at ending three decades of ethnic bloodshed in Sri Lanka could be finalized as early as next next month, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said here Wednesday. “We are expecting it to be by April, the political process to come up with definite proposals for a political […]
Marine Land
March 15 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has accepted a proposal to reclaim the sea and develop 450 acres of land alongside the Colombo Port by John Keells Holdings (JKH), a senior minister said. Updated/adds quotes “In the committee headed by the president we approved a very important and a flagship project to add 450 acres […]
Bowled Over
March 14 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s power utility is on a drive to provide uninterrupted supply to the country, while facing googlies from depleting hydro reserves, technical glitches, and higher demand from world cup cricket viewers. Meanwhile, the utility’s engineers union has also been warning that additional thermal plants may be needed to bridge a […]
Sri Lanka says air raids kill eight Tamil Tigers
March 13, 2007 (AFP) – Eight suspected Tamil Tiger rebels were killed in strikes by Sri Lanka warplanes as part of a military offensive in the eastern Batticaloa district, the defence ministry said Tuesday. More than 4,000 people have been killed amid an upsurge in fighting since December 2005, despite the two sides agreeing to […]
Senior Sri Lankan defence source warns of long campaign
March 13, 2007 (AFP) – A top Sri Lankan defence source warned Tuesday the current military campaign against the Tiger rebels could take up to three years as warplanes bombed rebel positions for a second day.There have been no comments from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which have been fighting for an independent […]
Six die in fresh Sri Lanka clashes
COLOMBO, March 12, 2007 (AFP) – Six people died in fresh clashes between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka’s embattled north and east, the military said Monday as aid groups warned of a refugee crisis. Suspected Tiger rebels set off a roadside bomb that killed a government security guard in the north […]
Southern Harbour
March 12, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Monday signed up two Chinese firms to build the proposed Hambantota Port in Southern Sri Lanka, with financing expected from the Chinese government. SLPA hopes the project will provide 6,000 direct employment and 50,000 indirect employment opportunities in the area, with nearby Matara, Ratnapura and […]
Sri Lankan president raps police over killings
March 11, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president Sunday chided his top police officers over a new wave of “execution-style” killings and demanded immediate action to end a climate of terror.President Mahinda Rajapakse expected “responsible intervention” by the police to stem a wave of killings, abductions and extortion rackets, some of which have been linked […]
MSF founder sees no quick end to Sri Lankan cycle of violence
March 11, 2007 (AFP) – The founder of the French charity Medecins Sans Frontiers, who has worked in over a dozen war zones, says there is no quick fix to Sri Lanka’s current killing spree — his latest human rights challenge. Bernard Kouchner, 67, a former French minister who co-founded MSF (Doctors without Borders) in […]