Tag: lbo

Oct 10, 2006 (AFP) – At least one soldier was killed and another wounded Tuesday in an artillery attack carried out by Tamil Tiger rebels at a de facto front line in northern Sri Lanka, defence officials said.The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) pounded the Muhamalai defence line in the Jaffna peninsula in […]

Oct 10, 2006 (AFP) – A powerful bomb ripped through a passenger van in Sri Lanka’s embattled northern district of Vavuniya on Tuesday, killing the driver and two others, police said. The driver had stopped at his home when a device placed inside the vehicle exploded, police said, adding that two people in the victim’s […]

Oct 10, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels said Tuesday they were ready to resume peace negotiations with the Sri Lankan government but would reconsider if security forces kept up attacks against them. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) told peace broker Norway that they agreed to two days of talks starting October […]

Oct 10, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka, which is backing South Korea’s bid to secure the UN Secretary General’s post, Tuesday said it hoped that the “issue” of North Korea’s nuclear tests would be resolved diplomatically.“We express the hope that the issue will be resolved through diplomatic means,” the Sri Lankan foreign ministry said in […]

Oct 9, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government vowed Monday to keep up an offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels until they stopped “provocative actions” as both sides traded artillery fire. After two weeks, the military regained territory lost to the rebels following intense fighting that claimed hundreds of lives of both sides. President Mahinda Rajapakse […]

Oct 8, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels Sunday accused Sri Lankan government troops of bracing for a fresh offensive around the northern peninsula of Jaffna after both sides suffered losses in a battle elsewhere.The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) also called on Norwegian peace monitors to step and check the frontlines, the […]

Oct 8, 2006 (AFP) – Twelve Sri Lankan government soldiers were missing Sunday following fierce fighting with Tamil rebels in the east of the island that left at least seven combatants dead, the defence ministry said. There were conflicting statements on casualties from the government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) after […]

Oct 8, 2006 (AFP) – Foreign aid donors have demanded peace talks in Sri Lanka to avert full-scale war, but the daily bloodshed has reduced broker Norway’s ability to coax rebels and the government to the table, diplomats say.During a visit here last week, Norwegian envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer failed to secure agreement on a venue […]

Oct 7, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels kept up attacks against each other for a second day Saturday, as the rebels said the new fighting represented a serious blow to peace efforts. Air attacks against the rebels continued amid exchanges of fire in the eastern district of Batticaloa where heavy […]

Oct 6, 2006 (AFP) – International relief agencies on Friday demanded access to some 200,000 people displaced by Sri Lanka’s worsening ethnic conflict and denounced restrictions on aid workers. A group of foreign non-governmental organisations in a joint appeal asked both the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels to ensure that aid workers had […]

Oct 6, 2006 (AFP) – Heavy sea and land battles erupted Friday in Sri Lanka with the military reporting the recovery of 22 bodies of Tamil rebels after a Norwegian envoy failed to secure a deal to re-launch peace talks.Some 60,000 people have been killed in the separatist conflict since 1972. The military and the […]