Tag: Sri Lanka
Heavy fighting in Sri Lanka kills 12
COLOMBO, March 21, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops and Tiger rebels fought a pitched battle in the island’s restive east Wednesday, killing at least 12 from both sides and wounding more than 30, military officials said. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) launched a pre-dawn mortar attack on an army camp at […]
Ferocious battles kills 18 in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, March 21, 2007 (AFP) – Tiger rebels on Wednesday fought pitched battles with troops in Sri Lanka while war planes bombed guerrilla positions, the military said, placing the death toll from both sides at 18. Troops and the Tamil Tigers were locked in fierce mortar and artillery duels for five hours in the east […]
Sri Lanka rejects foreign monitoring of human rights
March 21, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka Wednesday rejected any foreign scrutiny of its human rights record amid growing international criticism of extra-judicial killings, abductions and the recruitment of child soldiers.More than 4,000 people have been killed in the latest wave of fighting despite a truce agreed in February 2002.Government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said Colombo […]
Sri Lanka eyes MiG-29s to replace ageing fighters
March 21, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s air force is considering buying MiG-29 jet fighters to replace its ageing fleet of supersonic aircraft, the top air force officer said Wednesday. Commander Roshan Goonetileke said Sri Lanka was looking at the 1977 Soviet vintage MiG-29 combat aircraft, refurbished in the Ukraine, to replace Sri Lanka’s fleet […]
Sri Lanka climb 47 places to become 14th in Minority Rights Group list
LONDON, March 20, 2007 (AFP) – Somalia has overtaken Iraq as the world’s most dangerous country for minority groups, a report from a leading human rights group said Tuesday.The research, from Minority Rights Group International (MRG), placed Somalia first, Iraq second and Sudan third in its “Peoples Under Threat” list. Although Afghanistan came fourth and […]
Port Dollars
March 20, 2007 (LBO) – The Asian Development Bank has approved a 300 million dollar loan to expand the Colombo Port, the regional lender said Tuesday. The funds will come from its ‘ordinary capital resources’ window at a rate based on the London Interbank offered rate, the bank said. The loan will have a 25-year […]
Sri Lanka says destroyed Tiger boats
COLOMBO, March 20, 2007 (AFP) – Government troops destroyed four boats believed to be carrying Tamil Tiger guerrillas in northern Sri Lanka, the defence ministry said Tuesday, as one civilian was shot dead in other violence.Troops attacked four suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) boats off the Jaffna peninsula around midnight Monday, the ministry […]
World Food Program asks access to fleeing refugees
GENEVA, March 20, 2007 (AFP) – Some 95,000 people have fled fierce fighting in Sri Lanka’s eastern Batticaloa district in the past week, the UN food relief agency said Tuesday.World Food Programme spokesman Simon Pluess said the fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels in the area had triggered a “dramatically increased number of […]
Its Official
March 19, 2007 (LBO) – John Keells Holdings (JKH) said Monday it was officially informed by the government that a letter of intent (LOI) would be issued on a private public partnership to reclaim land around the Colombo port. JKH shares closed up 2.25 at 148 rupees on Monday. “We have received notification today that […]
Air attacks, land battles in Sri Lanka after ship sinkings
Air attacks, land battles in Sri Lanka after ship sinkings ATTENTION – ADDS sabotage of electricity, new mine attack, air strikes /// March 19, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels have fought fierce land battles after government forces said they sank two ships smuggling weapons for the guerrillas, the defence ministry […]
‘s navy destroys unidentified vessel
March 18, 2007 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan defence official said the navy sank a ship of the eastern coast Sunday that was believed to be smuggling weapons for Tamil Tiger rebels.There have been increasing clashes between suspected Tamil Tiger ships and the Sri Lankan navy in recent months amid heavy fighting in the island’s […]
Sri Lankan navy destroys two Tiger gun running ships
March 18, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s navy on Sunday sank two cargo vessels believed to be smuggling weapons and explosives for Tamil Tiger rebels, the defence ministry said. Sri Lankan naval craft shelled the first ship after it failed to stop for an inspection and opened fire on the navy, ministry spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe […]