Category: Politics

Jan 24, 2007 (AFP) – A leading human rights group Wednesday slammed Sri Lanka for conscripting hundreds of child soldiers to fight against Tamil rebels, saying the police had turned a blind eye to the practice for years.New-York based Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused the government of “hypocrisy”, saying in a 100-page report that Colombo […]

COLOMBO, Jan 24, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has begun restoring mobile phone services to half a million subscribers in the war-hit island’s east after lines were shut down during a battle, telephone operators said Wednesday. The move comes after the capture of the main Tamil rebel bastion in the restive area by government forces. […]

Jan 23, 2007 (AFP) – Two roadside bombs exploded in northern Sri Lanka Tuesday, killing two people and wounding 10, while suspected Tamil Tiger rebels hijacked a truck with six construction workers, police said.The blasts occurred in the besieged government-controlled Jaffna peninsula, while the workers were kidnapped by suspected Tiger rebels in the northern town […]

Jan 23, 2007 (AFP) – An international graft-buster Tuesday kicked off a campaign for survivors of Sri Lanka’s December 2004 tsunami to report allegations of corruption involving local and international aid. Transparency International, an international anti-corruption group, set a five-month timetable to give tsunami victims a chance to voice any charges of graft when aid […]

COLOMBO, Jan 23, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan journalists Tuesday protested the killings and abductions of colleagues during a rally in the capital that called for the government and Tamil rebels to halt the violence.“Hands off journalists,” said a banner carried by a reporter. “Report Card 2006-2007: Eight journalists killed,” said another placard. Activists at […]

January 23, (LBO) – Around 18 opposition parliamentarians will crossover to the government by Monday in the first round, if a cabinet re-shuffle takes place over the weekend, a United National Party ‘Karu’ faction official said. The LTTE also split in two after it stopped fighting the government during the ceasefire agreement. Parliamentarian Rajitha Senaratne […]

Jan 22, 2007 (AFP) – An Indonesian chief engineer was wounded in a suspected suicide bombing of a cargo vessel off Sri Lanka’s northern coast, a spokesman for the ship’s owners said Monday.The merchant vessel, the MV City of Liverpool, was attacked off the Jaffna peninsula late Sunday by Tamil Tiger suicide bombers, according to […]

COLOMBO, Jan 22, 2007 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels shot dead two soldiers and two policemen in Sri Lanka’s embattled northeast as security forces dug in at a town seized from the guerrillas, the defence ministry said Monday.The two soldiers were shot on Sunday night in the eastern district of Batticaloa, where troops captured the […]

Jan 19, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan security forces Friday captured the main rebel stronghold in the island’s embattled eastern province after weeks of heavy fighting, the defence ministry said.z The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fled the town of Vakarai in the face of the military advance, the defence ministry said in a […]

Jan 18, 2007 (AFP) – A soldier and a civilian were killed in fresh violence in Sri Lanka’s north as troops and Tamil Tiger rebels traded mortar fire in the restive east, the defence ministry said Thursday.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) killed one soldier with a rocket-propelled grenade fired at troops manning a […]

COLOMBO, Jan 17, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tigers counted heavy losses Wednesday after a day of intense fighting, as police commandos reported capturing another rebel base.Casualty tolls varied wildly from a maximum of 85 to a minimum of 16 combatants dead on both sides during Tuesday’s battles. The long-range artillery exchanges […]

Jan 16, 2007 (AFP) – At least 30 Tamil rebels and 11 security personnel were killed in Sri Lanka on Tuesday in an upsurge of violence, officials and the defence ministry said. Sri Lankan troops backed by warplanes launched a fresh offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels early Tuesday, killing at least 30 guerrillas for the […]