Tag: Sri Lanka

Nov 10, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil rebels and Sri Lanka’s navy fought a fierce sea battle Friday amid mounting international condemnation over heavy civilian casualties in the separatist conflict. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) destroyed two naval gunboats in fighting overnight Thursday, with the navy hitting back in the morning and destroying two […]

Nov 10, 2006 (AFP) – Gunmen assassinated a pro-rebel Tamil MP in the capital Colombo Friday as Sri Lanka’s warring parties fought fresh battles and faced rising international condemnation over civilian killings.“They are clearly not going to get a solution through violence,” Boucher warned.Unidentified gunmen shot dead legislator Nadarajah Raviraj, 44, and his bodyguard as […]

Nov 9, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government came under international criticism Thursday after killing 65 refugees and wounding hundreds of others in an artillery blitz of the rebel-held east of the island.Nearly 3,300 people have been killed in fighting in the past year despite a 2002 truce in Sri Lanka’s separatist conflict. Nordic monitors […]

Nov 9, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government Thursday expressed “regret” over the killing of some 65 civilians in an artillery blitz on the rebel-held east of the island, but blamed the Tamil Tigers for using human shields.Government defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said the military had targeted two Tamil Tiger artillery positions in Wednesday’s attack […]

COLOMBO, Nov 9, 2006 (AFP) – A heavy sea battle erupted in northern Sri Lanka Thursday after Tamil Tiger rebels staged a suicide attack against a navy gunboat, military sources said.The battle came as the government expressed “regret” over the killing of up to 65 civilians in an attack on suspected Tamil Tiger positions in […]

Nov 9, 2006 (AFP) – Norway said Thursday it had demanded an immediate explanation from Sri Lanka for a grenade attack against unarmed Nordic truce monitors.Aid Minister Erik Solheim said the Norwegian-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) came under grenade attack in the island’s north Wednesday while examining a route to the Jaffna peninsula. “It […]

Nov 9, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tigers sank two naval gunboats and captured four sailors in a fierce sea battle Thursday, the rebels said, as Sri Lanka expressed regret over the killing of 65 civilians in an artillery blitz. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they sank two Dvora gunboats and damaged […]

Nov 8, 2006 (AFP) – At least 65 civilians were killed and about 300 injured Wednesday when government forces shelled a refugee camp in eastern Sri Lanka, Tamil rebels and medical sources said.The bodies of the victims were brought to the Vakarai hospital inside the rebel-held part of Batticaloa following heavy artillery duels, while the […]

Nov 8, 2006 (AFP) – Norwegian observers in Sri Lanka were fired on by government forces during attacks on Wednesday which killed at least 65 civilians and injured about 300, Norwegian Aid Minister Erik Solheim told Norway’s NRK broadcaster. The conflict has killed more than 60,000 people since 1972, with rebels fighting for a separate […]

Nov 7, 2006 (AFP) – Five civilians were wounded after Tamil rebels and troops in eastern Sri Lanka traded mortar fire Tuesday, the defence ministry claimed and police found three bullet-riddled bodies in the region.Mortars fell near a temple, church and a railway station in the Morakotanchenai village and wounded at least five civilians, the […]

COLOMBO, Nov 7, 2006 (AFP) – The United Nations Tuesday welcomed Sri Lanka’s move to probe the killing of hundreds of civilians by troops and Tamil Tigers, but said a broader international mechanism was needed to check rights abuses. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said in a statement that Monday’s […]