Category: Politics

January 28, 2009 (AFP) – Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee on a surprise visit to Sri Lanka called for urgent measures to protect civilians caught up in the island’s ongoing fighting, officials said Wednesday.In the statement on a “major humanitarian crisis unfolding,” the ICRC said an estimated quarter of a million people were unable to […]

WASHINGTON, January 28, 2009 (AFP) – Two men pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to provide material support to Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers rebel group on the eve of their trial in a US district court, the Justice Department said.Thiruthanikan Thanigasalam, 40, and Sahilal Sabaratnam, 29, pleaded guilty in Brooklyn, New York to conspiring to purchase […]

January 28, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers have prevented international aid workers from evacuating some 300 hospital patients inside rebel-held territory, a report said Wednesday.A convoy of two dozen vehicles arranged by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations to transport the sick was barred from crossing the […]

MULLAITTIVU, January 27, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops Tuesday battled Tamil Tigers for control of the last stretch of rebel-held coastline, as international fears mounted for 250,000 civilians caught in the conflict.Soldiers backed by tanks and air cover fought to capture 30 kilometres (18 miles) of seafront, the only territory still controlled by the […]

January 28, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan forces on Wednesday fought their way into another village still held by the Tamil Tigers, an official said, as neighbouring India raised fears for civilians caught up in the war.Soldiers marched into the village of Visuamadu in the final phase of operations against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil […]

BRUSSELS, January 26, 2009 (AFP) – EU officials told Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama of their concern at the “humanitarian crisis” in the north of the country, especially “the rising civilian casualties in the conflict zone.” EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner underlined that “international standards must be respected” and that unrestricted access be […]

January 27, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s elusive Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran is still on the island and leading his fighters as they struggle to avoid total defeat, a news report said Tuesday. Prabhakaran, 54, is in the island’s northeastern district of Mullaittivu where his guerrillas are cornered by a massive military offensive, the […]

KUMALAMUNAI, January 27, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops making rapid progress against Tamil Tiger fighters have nearly recaptured the only stretch of coastline still held by the rebels, a commander in the field said Tuesday.Soldiers backed by tanks and air cover were battling to establish full control over the 30-kilometre (18 mile) stretch of […]

January 26, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan government troops were Monday pushing into the last pockets of jungle still held by Tamil Tigers after the capture of the rebels’ last urban stronghold and military headquarters.Soldiers on Sunday overran Mullaittivu, a northeastern coastal lagoon town that was the Tigers’ main base for more than a decade, […]

January 26, 2009 (AFP) – After a series of battlefield defeats, Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels have lost their conventional fighting capability, but analysts say they will fight on using guerrilla tactics.Once known as a ruthlessly efficient separatist group, the Tamil Tigers over three decades established a de facto mini-state which in recent weeks has […]

January 26, 2009 (AFP) – The United Nations said Monday at least 30 civilians had been killed in fighting between government forces and rebels in Sri Lanka amid a drive to root out the last pockets of Tamil Tiger resistance.The UN spokesman in Colombo, Gordon Weiss, said at least 10 civilians were killed on Monday […]