Tag: lbo

COLOMBO, Jan 23, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan journalists Tuesday protested the killings and abductions of colleagues during a rally in the capital that called for the government and Tamil rebels to halt the violence.“Hands off journalists,” said a banner carried by a reporter. “Report Card 2006-2007: Eight journalists killed,” said another placard. Activists at […]

January 23, (LBO) – Around 18 opposition parliamentarians will crossover to the government by Monday in the first round, if a cabinet re-shuffle takes place over the weekend, a United National Party ‘Karu’ faction official said. The LTTE also split in two after it stopped fighting the government during the ceasefire agreement. Parliamentarian Rajitha Senaratne […]

Jan 22, 2007 (AFP) – An Indonesian chief engineer was wounded in a suspected suicide bombing of a cargo vessel off Sri Lanka’s northern coast, a spokesman for the ship’s owners said Monday.The merchant vessel, the MV City of Liverpool, was attacked off the Jaffna peninsula late Sunday by Tamil Tiger suicide bombers, according to […]

COLOMBO, Jan 22, 2007 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels shot dead two soldiers and two policemen in Sri Lanka’s embattled northeast as security forces dug in at a town seized from the guerrillas, the defence ministry said Monday.The two soldiers were shot on Sunday night in the eastern district of Batticaloa, where troops captured the […]

Jan 19, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan security forces Friday captured the main rebel stronghold in the island’s embattled eastern province after weeks of heavy fighting, the defence ministry said.z The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fled the town of Vakarai in the face of the military advance, the defence ministry said in a […]

Jan 18, 2007 (AFP) – A soldier and a civilian were killed in fresh violence in Sri Lanka’s north as troops and Tamil Tiger rebels traded mortar fire in the restive east, the defence ministry said Thursday.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) killed one soldier with a rocket-propelled grenade fired at troops manning a […]

COLOMBO, Jan 17, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tigers counted heavy losses Wednesday after a day of intense fighting, as police commandos reported capturing another rebel base.Casualty tolls varied wildly from a maximum of 85 to a minimum of 16 combatants dead on both sides during Tuesday’s battles. The long-range artillery exchanges […]

Jan 16, 2007 (AFP) – A landmark deal between Sri Lanka’s ruling party and the main opposition to bring a political solution to the island’s ethnic conflict collapsed Tuesday as fighting escalated, officials said.Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe met President Mahinda Rajapakse and urged him not to bring opposition lawmakers into the cabinet, a move the […]

Jan 16, 2007 (AFP) – At least 30 Tamil rebels and 11 security personnel were killed in Sri Lanka on Tuesday in an upsurge of violence, officials and the defence ministry said. Sri Lankan troops backed by warplanes launched a fresh offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels early Tuesday, killing at least 30 guerrillas for the […]

COLOMBO, Jan 16, 2007 (AFP) – Commandos in Sri Lanka have found “torture chambers” used by the Tamil Tiger rebels to punish informants and deserters, the country’s defence ministry said Tuesday.The STF said one trooper was wounded in its recent offensive and claimed that a large number of rebels were killed or wounded during the […]

Jan 16, 2007 (AFP) – Commandos in Sri Lanka have found “torture chambers” used by the Tamil Tiger rebels to punish informants and deserters, the country’s defence ministry said Tuesday. Special Task Force (STF) commandos found the chambers at a rebel camp in the eastern district of Ampara during a nine-day offensive, which ended at […]