Category: Politics

OTTAWA, April 21, 2009 (AFP) – Up to 30,000 Tamil protestors stepped up pressure on the Canadian government on Tuesday, clogging the capital for a 15th day in a row to demand it try to broker a ceasefire in Sri Lanka.Screaming “no more genocide,” beating drums heard throughout downtown, waving fists in the air and […]

April 22, 2009 (AFP) – US and Red Cross officials pleaded for the lives of tens of thousands of civilians trapped in Sri Lankan jungle Wednesday as government troops pressed a relentless offensive against Tiger rebels.The apparent end game in Sri Lanka has triggered protests around the world, with up to 30,000 Tamil demonstrators clogging […]

April 22, 2009 (AFP) – Nearly 82,000 civilians have escaped from the shrinking patch of territory still controlled by the Tamil Tiger rebels, defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said Wednesday.He said 81,420 men, women and children were counted as they registered with security forces since fleeing the remaining rebel-held coastal jungle area Monday and Tuesday.He did […]

April 22, 2009 (AFP) – Two key Tamil Tiger officials surrendered Wednesday as Sri Lankan troops pressed a final offensive against the rebels despite an international outcry over the fate of trapped civilians.Among the top rebels who turned themselves in was the Tigers’ main mouthpiece to the outside world, their chief spokesman Velayudam Dayanidi, better […]

April 22, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s cornered Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran will not be eligible for amnesty, having “spurned” an offer to surrender, the island’s president said.President Mahinda Rajapakse said the guerrilla leader, whose Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are fighting to prevent complete defeat after being pushed to a narrow stretch […]

April 21, 2009 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan army on Tuesday captured more territory from the Tamil Tigers ahead of the expiry of a government deadline for the rebels to surrender, the defence ministry said.The defence ministry has given Tiger supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran and his fighters until 0630 GMT Tuesday to surrender. Advancing government troops […]

April 21, 2009 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan army on Tuesday seized more territory from the Tamil Tigers as the rebels ignored a government deadline to surrender, the defence ministry said. The attack saw government forces effectively slice the last small strip of jungle held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in two, […]

April 20, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s top defence official has called on the international community and the United Nations to put pressure on Tamil Tiger rebels to lay down arms and surrender.He said the latest influx of refugees from the small strip of land remaining under rebel control showed the civilians wanted to escape […]

April 20, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan security forces captured a defence line of cornered Tamil Tiger rebels on Monday and rescued at least 5,000 civilians being held as human shields, a military spokesman said.Soldiers took control of the three-kilometre (two-mile) embankment at Puthumathalan, inside the government-designated “no-fire” zone, spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said. “We captured […]

April 20, 2009 (AFP) – More than 35,000 civilians Monday fled the last area under the control of Sri Lanka’s cornered Tamil Tigers, President Mahinda Rajapakse said, adding that the rebels’ “complete defeat” was imminent. Showing aerial video from a military spy plane over the tiny area where the Tigers are staging a last stand, […]

April 20, 2009 (AFP) – Tens of thousands of civilians on Monday escaped from the area still held by Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers, signalling that the rebels’ “complete defeat” was imminent, President Mahinda Rajapakse said. Showing AFP aerial video from a military spy plane over the tiny area where the Tigers are staging a last […]