Tag: Sri Lanka

Oct 12, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president offered cabinet posts to the main opposition on Thursday in a bid to strike a bipartisan deal to end the island’s ethnic bloodshed, his office said. The parting of the ways with the Marxists has pushed the government closer to the main opposition which has more clout […]

WASHINGTON, Oct 11, 2006 (AFP) – The United States said it was “deeply concerned” Wednesday by intense fighting in Sri Lanka that has jeopardized new efforts to revive a peace agreement between the government and minority Tamil rebels.McCormack said Washington was working closely with its fellow co-chairs “to find a way forward to an end […]

Oct 12, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels inflicted heavy losses on Sri Lankan troops in fierce fighting that reportedly killed 244 combatants and wounded over 430, dashing peace hopes, officials said Thursday.Some 60,000 people have been killed overall in the three-decades-old conflict between minority Tamils seeking an independent homeland and government forces. Defence officials […]

Oct 12, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s cabinet announced Thursday they had stopped drawing their salaries with immediate effect as the government was set to raise its defence spending by 45 percent.Media Minister Anura Yapa told reporters that cabinet agreed to draw only allowances they were entitled to and not accept the salaries paid to […]

COLOMBO, Oct 11, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s peace broker Norway Wednesday asked the government and Tamil Tiger rebels to cease hostilities after the two parties agreed to end an eight-month deadlock in their negotiations. Norway’s top peace broker Erik Solheim welcomed the agreement between the Sri Lankan administration and the rebel Liberation Tigers of […]

Oct 11, 2006 (AFP) – At least 85 people were killed and more than 400 wounded when a new military offensive Wednesday met with ferocious resistance from Tamil Tiger rebels in northern Sri Lanka, both sides said. Intense fighting halted the government’s onslaught into rebel territory, which was backed by Israeli-built Kfir jets and naval […]

Oct 11, 2006 (AFP) – At least 75 Sri Lankan troops and 10 Tamil Tiger rebels were killed Wednesday and more than 400 soldiers wounded in a major battle in the island’s north, according to the warring parties.The military maintained that they were “compelled” to launch the offensive as a “defensive measure” to neutralise a […]

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 […]