Category: Politics

COLOMBO, April 12, 2007 (AFP) – Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels Thursday shot dead seven villagers of the majority Sinhalese community in northern Sri Lanka on the eve of the traditional New Year, police said.Gunmen from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) raided the village of Avarantalawa in the district of Vavuniya where heavy fighting […]

COLOMBO, April 12, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan forces have captured a strategic highway in the island’s restive eastern province which was under Tamil Tiger control for 15 years, the defence ministry said Thursday.Troops took control Wednesday of the A-5 road linking the town of Chenkaladi and Badulla in the central part of the island, […]

April 10, 2007 (AFP) – At least 17 people died when a crowded bus and a truck transporting beer crashed head on in southern Sri Lanka Tuesday, police said.Most of the victims were trapped and burnt to death as the bus caught fire at Induruwa, about 70 kilometres (43 miles) south of Colombo, police said. […]

COLOMBO, April 10, 2007 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels Tuesday backed an Amnesty International campaign to shame Sri Lanka’s government during the cricket World Cup and said it should be extended to a full sporting boycott of the island.Sri Lanka are due to host a high-profile cricket series against England later this year.The London-based rights […]

GENEVA, April 9, 2007 (AFP) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) voiced concern Monday about the worsening situation in Sri Lanka, urging all sides to respect humanitarian law.“The number of casualties caused by deliberate attacks on civilians has sharply increased in northern and eastern Sri Lanka,” the ICRC said in a press […]

COLOMBO, April 8, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan stepped up security Sunday over fears of bomb attacks ahead of the traditional New Year festivities this week while the military said six rebels and a soldier were killed in fresh fighting. A government soldier was killed in a confrontation with Tamil Tiger rebels in the north […]

by Mel Gunasekera COLOMBO, April 7, 2007 (AFP) – Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels detonated a roadside bomb on Saturday, killing eight passengers on a bus and wounding 25, the Sri Lankan government said, marking the latest violence on the island. Security has also been intensified across the island’s northern and eastern regions in a bid […]

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2007 (AFP) – US authorities said Thursday they had busted an arms-trafficking gang, arresting six Asians who had been trying to smuggle weapons from the United States to Tamil Tiger rebels.Singapore man Haniffa Bin Osman, 55, was the latest person to plead guilty in the investigation which saw undercover agents track the […]

COLOMBO, April 6, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s navy and Tamil Tiger rebels fought a sea battle off the island’s northwestern coast on Friday with both claiming heavy losses for the other side.Naval patrol craft engaged five boats of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) off the coastal district of Puttalam and one was […]

COLOMBO, April 5, 2007 (AFP) – Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels shot dead four civilians in eastern Sri Lanka on Thursday, the defence ministry said, as the military reported killing three guerrillas. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) gunmen opened fire on farmers in Polonnaruwa district as they travelled to sell their rice crops, the ministry […]

April 5, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan security forces on Thursday found a powerful landmine in a shop along the main road to the island’s only international airport, police said.Over 60,000 people have since been killed in the Tamil separatist conflict and diplomatic attempts to bring the warring factions to the negotiating table have ended […]