Category: Politics
Sri Lankan president says war nearly over
May 7, 2009 (AFP) – The president of Sri Lanka said Thursday the island’s long-running war against the separatist Tamil Tigers was “rapidly” nearing its end. Sri Lanka’s main Tamil moderate party meanwhile demanded an immediate truce, saying a final assault against Tiger rebels would inevitably lead to more civilian deaths. The Tamil United Liberation […]
Sri Lanka troops break more Tiger defences: ministry
May 8, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan soldiers have overrun another Tamil Tiger defence line standing between government troops and the small strip of territory still held by the ethnic rebels, the defence ministry said Friday. In heavy fighting late Thursday, troops captured a mud embankment built by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) […]
Sri Lanka Tigers using suicide bombers: military
May 7, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers are using suicide bombers to hold back government forces who are close to overrunning the last patch of rebel-held territory, the military said Thursday.The Tigers have deployed hundreds of suicide bombers to devastating effect in the past 20 years, claiming several high-profile victims, including the then […]
‘s Ban to assess crisis
May 6, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president has invited UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to visit the island and assess first-hand the plight of civilians affected by fighting with Tamil rebels, his office said Wednesday.President Mahinda Rajapakse, under pressure over allegations that his troops have been shelling civilian areas, spoke to Ban on Tuesday […]
Sri Lanka roadside blasts sugar firm tractor, one killed
May 05, 2009 (LBO) – One person was killed Tuesday morning when a tractor belonging to a private sugar plantation was caught in a roadside bomb in southern Sri Lanka, the military said. Pelwatte Sugar is a listed company. Pelwatte Sugar was trading at 16.50 rupees, up 50 cents. The tractor was being used to […]
Sri Lanka rebel leader trapped by troops: PM
May 5, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran is trapped in a small strip of coastline that has been surrounded by government soldiers, the prime minister said Tuesday.Ratnasiri Wickremanayake told parliament that Prabhakaran, 54, was still leading his Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fighters in their desperate battle for survival […]
‘s call for ceasefire: ministry
May 4, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Monday rejected a Canadian call for a ceasefire in the military campaign against cornered Tamil Tiger guerrillas in the island’s northeast, the foreign ministry said.Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told the visiting Canadian Minister for International Cooperation Beverly Oda that a previous unilateral truce by the […]
Sri Lanka rejects satellite evidence of civilian bombings
May 2, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s defence ministry on Saturday rejected satellite imagery issued by the United Nations in support of allegations that security forces shelled a civilian area. The defence ministry said the allegations based on UN aerial images posted on the UNOSAT website and used on several foreign television channels had “no […]
Sri Lanka journalist detention highlighted by Obama
May 02, 2009 (LBO) – US President Barack Obama said he was concerned about threats against the media the world over, and mentioned the plight of Sri Lankan journalist J S Tissainayagam who has been detained for over a year.“In every corner of the globe, there are journalists in jail or being actively harassed: from […]
Sri Lanka dismisses critics, vows to crush Tigers
April 30, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president on Thursday ruled out halting the military’s offensive against the Tamil Tigers, and warned the rebels that they must give up or be killed.“We have no plans to go for a ceasefire with the Tigers, but they have a little time left to drop their weapons and […]
Sri Lanka navy says 25 Tamil Tigers killed in sea battle
April 29, 2009 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan navy attacked and sank six Tamil Tiger rebel boats and killed at least 25 guerrillas during a pre-dawn sea battle on Wednesday, a navy spokesman said.Naval craft detected the boats off the coast of the last remaining patch of territory still with the guerrillas, spokesman Captain D. […]
Surrendered officials denounce Tigers
April 29, 2009 (AFP) – Two prominent members of Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers who surrendered to government troops have made a televised denunciation of the rebels in a major propaganda coup for the island’s authorities.In a video posted late Tuesday on the Sri Lankan defence ministry’s website, the rebels’ one-time spokesman and another official accuse […]