Associated Press, Tue October 10, 2006 04:23 EDT . - - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels detonated a bomb in northern Sri Lanka - on Tuesday, killing three people and wounding three others, police said.
The bomb, believed to have been hidden in a vehicle, exploded in the northern town of
Authorities suspect separatist Tamil rebels were behind the blast, he said.
Vavuniya is the northernmost government-held garrison town before rebel-held territory.
The explosion, which ripped through the mini luxury van, caused extensive damage to a nearby house where two people were killed, police said.
The van had been in police custody for about a month and was released today to the owner pending an inquiry into a road accident.
Police were investigating how the bomb was placed in the van.
Meanwhile, an soldier was killed in an artillery attack carried out by the Tamil Tiger rebels in the northern
Tamil Tigers ready to attend peace talks, as army says 20 rebels killed in fierce battle
Associated Press, Tue October 10, 2006 08:59 EDT COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) The Tamil Tigers will attend peace talks with the Sri Lankan government later this month, but warned they could withdraw if military aggression continues, a report said Tuesday, as the army said it killed 20 rebels in fierce fighting in the northeast. Dozens of army personnel and rebels have been killed since last week in fighting in northeastern
Thamilselvan described as unacceptable government claims that all military acts were defensive and in retaliation for violence instigated by the Tamil Tigers.
He urged the government to allow members of the Sri Lanka - Monitoring Mission access to the front lines on the Jaffna peninsula permission, he said, already provided by the rebels so they can ``judge who is the aggressor.''
``It will be too late to pass a final ruling on cease-fire violation after a major aggression has taken place and the entire island is plunged into a full-scale war,'' he added, according to the Web site.
A spokesman for the Nordic cease-fire monitoring mission, Thorfinnur Omarsson, said they are still awaiting government permission, adding that they have received rebel approval but have yet to visit the area.
Meanwhile, military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe said troops killed 20 rebels during two days of fighting starting Sunday in northeastern Trincomalee district after the Tigers intensified their activities. He did not elaborate on the rebel activities, but said they posed a threat to a strategic naval base and local residents.
``The army has chased away Tamil Tigers from that area and the army is now dominating the area,'' he told a news conference in
There was no immediate comment from the rebels.
Separately, Samarasinghe said one soldier was killed and four wounded when the rebels attacked the military's defense line on the
The military controls most of the
TamilNet said the army has moved rockets, mortar shells and other military hardware from its main
The rebels' political wing said at the weekend that reliable intelligence suggests the military is preparing to launch a major attack on rebel and civilian settlements in the north under a scorched-earth policy.
The military declined to comment Tuesday on the latest report, but has previously said it only retaliates if attacked.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse said Monday that the government remains committed to peace talks, but warned it would be ``compelled to take appropriate counter measures'' to ensure security if the rebel violence continues.
Also Tuesday, suspected rebels detonated a bomb hidden inside a van in Vavuniya, the northernmost government-held garrison town before rebel-held territory, killing three people and wounding three others, said police spokesman Kumara Sandanayake.
The Tigers have been fighting since 1983 for a separate homeland for the Tamil minority in the north and east, citing decades of discrimination by the majority Sinhalese. About 65,000 people were killed before a 2002 cease-fire.
Tuesday October 10, 2006 - 06:40 EDT.
Talks between the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in
Hundreds of people have been killed since late July in the worst fighting since the tattered truce was brokered and many feel talks planned in
"We do not want to be trapped within talks about the ceasefire agreement," Defence spokesman and Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters at a weekly briefing.
Associated Press, Tue October 10, 2006 06:55 EDT .
``We are ready for talks, and agreed to the venue and date,'' Suppiah Thamilselvan said after meeting with Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar in the northern rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi, according to the pro-rebel TamilNet Web site.
``However, if the military aggression continued, we will be forced to reconsider the decision,'' TamilNet quoted him as saying.
Rebel spokesman Daya Master confirmed the meeting, but did not give details.
Dozens of army personnel and rebels have been killed since last week in fighting in northeastern
Thamilselvan described as unacceptable government claims that all military acts were defensive and retaliatory in response to violence instigated by the Tamil Tigers.
He urged the government to allow members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission access to the front lines on the northern Jaffna peninsula _ which he said the rebels had already allowed _ so they can ``judge who is the aggressor.''
``It will be too late to pass a final ruling on cease-fire violation after a major aggression has taken place and the entire island is plunged into a full scale war,'' he added.
Earlier Tuesday, government security spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said that President Mahinda Rajapakse at a meeting with ambassadors on Monday said he had asked the Tamil Tigers to give up violence and terrorism, and join the peace process and be a party to democracy.
Rambukwella said Rajapakse wants the peace talks to focus on core-issues including democracy, allowing a multi-party system, pluralism, human rights, child soldier recruitment, development of the north and east and devolution _rather than discussing the 2002 cease-fire agreement.
``It is now high time to get into the substantive and core-issues,'' he said.
Associated Press, Mon October 9, 2006 07:26 EDT - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Sri Lanka's president warned Monday that ``appropriate counter measures'' would be taken to ensure security if Tamil Tiger attacks continue, as a Tamil political party warned of full scale war if the military launches a major offensive. The statement came after Rajapakse met Monday with ambassadors from the countries backing
Rajapakse said he hoped those countries could help persuade the Tamil Tigers ``to abandon their violent approach and return to negotiation.''
Norwegian peace envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer last week intensified efforts to restart Sri Lankan peace talks that collapsed in February and end months of bloodshed. He held separate talks with government representatives and Tamil rebels to try and bring the two sides back to the negotiating table.
The Tigers have warned they will withdraw from a 2002 Norwegian-brokered cease-fire if the government continues to attack rebel positions.
Dozens of army personnel and rebels have been killed since last week in fighting in northeastern Sri Lanka - . About 1,500 people have died in increasingly heavy fighting since the last round of peace talks in
Meanwhile, The Tamil National Alliance a political party widely believed to be a proxy of the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels appealed to the international community late Sunday to urge the government to help create a conducive atmosphere for a return to peace talks.
``There can be little doubt that any such further offensive military operations by the government of Sri Lanka - will almost certainly result in the breakout of full-scale war and a complete negation of the cease-fire agreement,'' said TNA parliamentary member Mavai S. Senathirajah, according to TamilNet, a pro-rebel Web site.
The rebels' political wing said at the weekend that reliable intelligence suggests the Sri Lankan military is in full preparation to launch a major attack on rebel and civilian settlements in the north under a scorched-earth policy.
The military dismissed the allegation, saying it only retaliates if attacked.
TamilNet, quoting unnamed rebel officials, said the army was building up its arsenal on its northern front lines, indicating a ``war plan based on a scorched-earth policy that will flatten civilian settlements'' around the Tamil areas on the
The military controls almost all of the
In the latest fighting, the Tigers attacked the defense line in Welioya, 255 kilometers (160 kilometers) northeast of the capital, Colombo, late Sunday, triggering an overnight gunbattle between army and insurgents, said an officer at the Media Center for National Security, speaking on anonymity condition as he is not authorized to speak to the media.
He said the army did not suffer any casualties.
Separately on Monday, suspected Tamil Tigers exploded a roadside bomb near an army checkpoint in the eastern Batticaloa district, wounding one soldier, the officer said.
There was no immediate comment from the rebels.
Also on Monday, schools in besieged northern
For a week in Kattankudy, a religious riot erupted between the two archrivals it has solved by the All Ceylon Jameathul Ulama on Saturday. The minority hypothetic group suddenly made a counter attack to the majority of the believers of holiness on 31.09.2006. Consequently, the quarrel started between the both sides. Tens of thousands youths, elder and clergy were gathered at the grand jummah mosque for demanding the theoreticians ought to be converted to holy islam or given up theirs faithless against to the Islamic fundamentals. All commercial traders had given a great support to save the Islamic ground rules. The All Ceylon Jameathul Ulama called the minority group for discussion on Saturday. Theirs theoretical leader of the minority group refused to participate on discussion, the police officers warned to the leader and said, if you refused to join the discussion we would have to take a severe action against to you. Finally, the leader joined the discussion.
We have no news from the reliable source what had happen in the discussion, however someone says, minority leader made his apologies at the meeting.
Now the tense is eased and the commercial traders have been enjoying by the festival rush hour business.
Associated Press, Sun October 8, 2006 08:50 EDT . COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Police commandos directed heavy arms fire into Tamil Tiger areas in eastern Sri Lanka - on Sunday, forcing civilians to flee, as separate attacks by the guerrillas left one policeman and a soldier dead, rebel and military officials said. Meanwhile, suspected rebels opened fire on three policemen at a checkpoint outside Eravur town in Sri Lanka - 's east on Sunday, triggering a gunbattle that left one officer dead, said a defense ministry official on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media.
He said the attackers fled the scene after the police started firing.
District senior police officer Maxi Procter said he believed the attackers suffered some wounds because blood stains were found in the area where they launched the assault. One civilian was also wounded, he said.
On the northern
He said the army retaliated with artillery fire, causing damage to the rebels.
There was no immediate comment from the rebels on the attacks.
Fighting across eastern and northeastern
About 1,500 people have died in increasingly heavy fighting since the last round of talks in February.
Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross brought the bodies of 11 soldiers from a Tamil Tiger-held area in the east and handed them over them to army on Sunday, Samarasinghe said.
The military earlier said that 12 soldiers went missing last week when the Tigers attacked an army camp in Mankerni. The rebels accused the army of starting the offensive in a bid to grab rebel-held territory.
The rebels earlier said they had also captured another soldier alive.
Friday 06 October 2006, 13:15 Makka Time, 10:15 GMT
Thorfinnur Omarsson, spokesman of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, said: "It is totally unacceptable if the military penetrate Tiger territory. That is an offensive right after agreeing to talks."
The military said the Tigers had attacked its frontline positions in the eastern district of Batticaloa and in the besieged army-held northern
The armed separatist group has threatened to withdraw from the truce completely if attacks by the military continue, but the government says it reserves the right to retaliate if the Tigers attack security forces.
"The Tigers fired artillery and mortars at our forward defence lines, and the military wants to neutralise them and push them back [to the east]," a military source said on condition of anonymity.
The operation comes only weeks after a military offensive to capture rebel territory on the southern lip of the strategic northeastern
Sri Lankan forces also described this action as "defensive".
SP Thamilselvan, leader of the Tigers' political wing, said separatists expected little to come out of talks planned for the end of the month, and said violence would spread across the island if attacks by the military continued.
"Although we do not hold high hopes, we are ready to respect the call [for talks] and give it a chance," Thamilselvan said on Friday.
He said: "As far as we are concerned, when our homeland is crushed, and our people's habitats are destroyed, this war will definitely spread throughout the island."
Peace talks
The government says the talks will take place in
The Tigers wanted the venue to be
Each side accuses the other of trying to rekindle a conflict that has killed more than 65,000 people since 1983, and Nordic truce monitors see little will from either side to halt the violence.
Reuters
Friday October 6, 2006 - 09:25 EDT.
A statement by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) said the fighting ensued after LTTE cadres fired mortars and artillery from areas of Panichchankeri and Vakerai areas with ground-based attacks at troops based in Mankerni.
Political and diplomatic observers here are concerned about the continued fighting despite the commitment on both sides to commence fresh round of talks and cease hostilities. As per the announcement made on Thursday, talks would be held on October 28 and 29.
The agreement for talks is outcome of coaxing virtually from the whole world and mounting worries about plight of close to a million displaced in the island nation. According to a western diplomatic if the hostilities do not stop immediately, the proposed talks in
"The Tigers initiated these offensive attacks at troops at Mankerni area
Associated Press, Fri October 6, 2006 08:44 EDT COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Heavy clashes broke out between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels in three parts of Sri Lanka's volatile north and east, killing a large number of insurgents and wounding eight soldiers, the military said Friday. ``
A spokesman for the Nordic cease-fire mission said both sides had filed complaints, accusing the other of starting the fighting.
``It's difficult to say who started first'' because monitors are unable to assess the ground situation given the ongoing fighting, said Thorfinnur Omarsson.
``This is very disappointing as it happened at a time when they had agreed for talks,'' Omarsson said.
In the northern
The air force later launched airstrikes on rebel artillery and mortar positions, Samarasinghe added.
Separately, soldiers destroyed six Tamil Tiger boats off the country's northern coast suspected of transporting fuel, he said.
The boats were destroyed overnight near the
A suspected oil storage facility on the islet also caught fire and was destroyed, he said.
A round of peace talks is planned for Oct. 28 and 29 in
The rebels agreed to unconditional talks with the government, but warned they would pull out of a 2002 cease-fire accord if the government persists with its military campaign.
The government cautioned it would counter any offensives by the insurgents ahead of the talks.
The Norway-brokered 2002 cease-fire temporarily ended
About 65,000 people died in the conflict before the truce.
Renewed fighting since late July has left at least another 1,000 combatants and civilians dead, even though both sides say they are still honoring the truce.
The Jameeyathul Ulama and the Federation of Kattankudy do still not consider the situation. There is no unique group or leadership for taking the prompt action in an appropriate time in Kattankudy. The Kattankudy Muslims communities are believed, the crisis will over today or tomorrow but all the organizations are keep closed their eyes and sprawling in an armchair. The real loses only to the commercial traders and the daily earners. We urge the government to show mercy in the situation of Kattankudy people and take immediate action please.
Associated Press, Wed October 4, 2006 08:08 EDT . BATTICALOA,
Renewed fighting this year has killed more than 1,000 people on this island off southern
By allowing Karuna's forces to operate, the government has gained an ally against a common enemy, said Robert Karniol, Asia Pacific bureau chief for Jane's Defense Weekly.
``The Tamil Tigers are a serious threat to the government and anything that weakens or distracts from that is advantageous to
The Karuna faction split from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2004, with Karuna saying the larger group didn't defend the interests of the country's eastern Tamils. The faction has since built up a strong military presence in the island's east.
It is demanding a role in peace talks with the government and says there can be no solution without them.
Hundreds of Karuna fighters are terrorizing the district of Batticaloa, the scene of a rash of abductions that began in March, residents said.
The total number of disappearances is unclear because so many go unreported, but officials from several aid organizations estimate at least 300 people have been taken by Karuna's men this year.
``It has definitely been hundreds and it might not be all of them,'' said Bjorn Kjelsaas of the Sri Lanka - Monitoring Mission, established to oversee the 2002 cease-fire.
The government, for its part, denies helping the Karuna faction.
``We don't know about his (Karuna's) whereabouts. We have been right throughout denying that we are involved with them,'' the government's national security spokesman, Keheliya Rambukwella, said.
But the two forces clearly work together, many people say. Karuna faction troops, mostly dressed in civilian clothing, work alongside police and army officials at roadblocks, according to a high-ranking local official and aid workers. Because of the violence in the area unexplained killings happen nearly every day, as various factions battle for supremacy only a handful of people were willing to use their names.
A leader of the faction's political wing, E. Prethip, told The Associated Press that the group's members are ``volunteers.''
He blamed the Tamil Tigers for committing atrocities in Karuna's name, and said members were armed only in self defense.
``They carry out ambushes, loot houses, kill civilians. They kidnap the children and they say it was done by Karuna,'' Prethip said in his office, where children served visitors drinks.
``Our military does not cooperate with the Sri Lankan army, but we're not enemies either,'' he said, sitting in front of a bookcase filled with children's books and a recent copy of ``Eye Spy'' intelligence magazine.
The disappearances have become so common that almost every family around Batticaloa has lost a son, or knows someone who has, residents said. A teacher said his 10th grade high school class had almost no boys left.
Scores of underage boys sometimes dozens at once have been rounded up at their homes, Hindu temples, schools or by the side of the road and spirited away in white vans, according to witnesses and confidential case files presented to Sri Lankan prosecutors and the Ministry for Human Rights and obtained by The Associated Press.
In the most recent known case, two dozen youngsters were taken from a single village on Sept. 24, said a human rights activist who spoke on condition of anonymity because she feared for her life.
In a desperate attempt to protect their children, many families have sent their sons to safe houses, a local resident said.
Some K-faction recruits receive wages, normally around 6,000 rupees (around US$60; euro47.11) a month, with two thirds generally going to the family. Relatives are sometimes allowed to visit the camps, often in exchange for not going to authorities, aid workers said.
``The communities seem to know who is taking their children and they live in fear and are in need of protection,'' said Marcel Smits, head of the aid group Nonviolent Peaceforce Sri Lanka - .
Parents who had visited said their children were receiving military training to fight the Tigers, Smits said.
One couple, whose names were withheld to protect them, told The Associated Press their 16-year-old son was taken by a neighbor eight months ago and has not been seen again.
The parents are too scared to go to the police, choosing to suffer silently while protecting the three boys they still have.
``We didn't try to go after him and don't know where he is,'' said the father, as his wife huddled in a corner, staring blankly into the glow of an oil lamp. ``We just want to have an ordinary life.''
Associated Press, Wed October 4, 2006 06:27 EDT . COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) _ Sri Lanka's air force bombed Tamil Tiger rebels' mortar positions in the embattled north on Wednesday, a day after the insurgents agreed to peace talks with the government but warned that further military action would see them pull out of a shaky four-year-old cease-fire.
Separately, police in the capital,
``We took three airstrikes, this morning, to destroy their (Tamil rebel) mortar positions,'' said military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe.
He said insurgents were firing mortars toward government troops in the Pallai and Pooneryn areas of the northern
Although the damage is exactly not known, ``the pilots have seen mortar positions caught in fire,'' Samarasinghe said.
Also on Wednesday, Tamil Tigers attacked an army camp in Vavunathivu in the eastern Batticaloa district and troops repulsed the attack with mortars and artillery, said Samarasinghe. No casualties were reported.
The violence came just hours after the rebels told a Norwegian peace-broker that they would meet with the government, unconditionally. The last round of peace talks aiming to end two decades of civil war were held in February.
However, the rebels warned that further government military action would see them withdraw altogether from a 2002 cease-fire accord.
It wasn't immediately clear how the military's airstrikes would affect the rebels' offer for talks. Tiger officials were not immediately available for comment.
The Norway-brokered cease-fire temporarily ended
Renewed fighting since late July, however, has left at least 1,000 combatants and civilians dead, even though both sides say they are still honoring the truce.
The homemade bomb, weighing about 15 kilograms (33 pounds), found in
He said a resident had spotted the device and informed police at a nearby checkpoint.
It was not clear who hid the bomb, but separatist Tamil Tiger rebels have been accused of a series of roadside explosions that have killed scores of government troops and civilians since December.
On Wednesday nearly 5,000 protesters marched along the main roads in
The protest was led by trade union and student wings of the Marxist People's Liberation Front which opposes power sharing as a solution to
Shouting slogans against the Norway-led efforts to solve
``We are against the devolution efforts by the so-called international forces. Today, Tamil Tigers have been weakened and these forces want to strengthen them,'' said Anura Dissanayake a party lawmaker.
Associated Press, Tue October 3, 2006 08:24 EDT . (AP)
Renewed fighting since late July, however, has left at least 1,000 combatants and civilians dead.
No date for the talks was announced, although the government's national security spokesman, Keheliya Rambukwella, earlier said the government has suggested Oct. 30 or Nov. 10 as possible dates.
The government was to hold a press conference later Tuesday to discuss the talks, officials said.
The government had previously said it wants a personal commitment from the rebels' reclusive leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, to end all violence before any talks.
Tuesday's meeting was part of Hanssen-Bauer's stepped up diplomatic efforts to restart peace talks.
Following the peace talks in
On Monday, Hanssen-Bauer held separate meetings with top government negotiator Nimal Siripala de Silva, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera and Palitha Kohona, chief of the government's peace secretariat, officials said.
Meanwhile, a rebel Web site said air force fighter jets bombed rebel-held areas 20 kilometers (32 miles) away from where the talks were taking place.
``This morning, they (rebels) were firing artillery toward our forces in the northern peninsula and the air force attacked three identified rebel artillery positions to neutralize their attack,'' military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Tamil Tigers attacked a police camp in Murunkan in northern Vavuniya district, prompting police to retaliate, Samarasinghe said , adding that the insurgents were armed with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.
Police did not suffer any casualties, but they later recovered the body of one rebel, he said.
Associated Press writer Krishan Francis contributed to this report
Associated Press, Sun October 1, 2006 06:35
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) _ Seven Tamil Tiger rebels were killed in two separate battles with the Sri Lankan navy, the military said Sunday, as a Norwegian peace envoy arrived to try and end a seven-month deadlock in peace talks between the two sides.
Three rebels were killed Saturday evening on
The navy operation followed an attempted raid Friday by a Tiger vessel that was destroyed trying to enter a naval base near the island, he said.
Four guerrillas died in the sea battle and two bodies were recovered, the official said.
The attempted infiltration prompted the navy to search
On the
Also in
The fighting came as Norwegian envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer arrived in the island for talks with government and Tiger leaders on the country's peace process.
``He will be meeting officials from both sides during the week,'' said Erik Ivo Nurnberg, a spokesman for
The last round of peace talks was February in
Violence in recent months has killed more than 1,000 combatants and civilians in the country's northeast.
Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Sunday that its is ``highly worried'' because of a grenade explosion in front of the agency's office in
Although nobody was hurt in the explosion, the ICRC in a statement urged the government and Tamil Tiger rebels to ``refrain from acts that jeopardize the safety of humanitarian workers.''
On Saturday, elite Sri Lankan police forces killed 11 rebels in a pre-emptive attack in the east, while a bomb blast killed three policemen in the northwest.
The Tigers _ formally called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam _ have fought the government since 1983 to create a separate state for ethnic minority Tamils following decades of discrimination by the majority Sinhalese-dominated state.
More than 66,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
If the LTTE is not willing to come for peace negotiations, the government will forget them and discuss with the Tamil people and Tamil political parties represented in the parliament on a devolution framework, Government Defence Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said yesterday. “As a viable solution for the ethnic problem the government has complete faith in the success of the All Party Conference. We want to get the participation of the LTTE in these sessions but if this will prove futile we have to come to a working arrangement with the Tamil people and the Tamil parties represented in the parliament,” he said.
As such, he said, it is the conclusion of the government that the word given by the LTTE unfortunately lacks credibility, and pointed out that this is the main reason that the government requested for a written pledge from the Tiger leader himself.
However, LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran had retorted saying that a written word given by the Political Wing leader S P Thamilselvan is as good as the word of the supremo himself. However, the government spokesman said that this is another indication of the LTTE’s lack of sincerity with regard to finding a genuine solution for the ethnic problem.
“We have serious doubt about the undertakings given by the LTTE leadership because of the past experiences where they have not adhered to their word. However, we still maintain that the doors are still open for peace talks and we expect them to be genuine in their intentions,” Rambukwella said. He added that the government has strong suspicion that the LTTE is only interested in talks because the ground situation is not favourable for them.
Regarding the Tiger leader’s refusal to meet with Eric Solheim due to his security constraints, Rambukwella said the government is not concerned about the arrangements between Kilinochchi and the Norwegians.
Reports from Army web:
Troops retaliated terrorist attack using small arms.
Later, troops conducted a search in the area and found two LTTE dead bodies, one 9 mm pistol and two cyanide capsules.
Two LTTE Suspects Commit Suicide
PUTTALAM: SELF-DETONATION of a hand grenade by two LTTE suspects when the Police were trying to arrest them in UDAPPUWA, PUTTALAM killed both of them before the arrest was made Friday (22) around 4.30 p.m..
According to Police, they first recovered two T-56 weapons, two magazines and fifty six ammunition during a cordon and search conducted in the general area of UDAPPUWA Friday (21). The items had been hidden in an estate.
During further search, Police observed a suspicious movement of two persons at a location nearby and attempted take them into custody.
However, the two suspects started to flee as the Police were pursuing their movement. Within seconds the two suspects having realized that they were about to be arrested self activated a hand grenade carried by them and fell dead
The MUNDALAMA Police are conducting investigations.
LTTE Pre-Dawn Attack On Kiran Army Camp Repulsed
BATTICALOA: TROOPS at the KIRAN Army detachment in BATTICALOA successfully repulsed an LTTE mortar attack today (24) early morning.
The LTTE mortar fire started around 5.20 a.m. continued to pour on the detachment until the heavy volume of artillery fire by troops neutralized them.
Exchange of fire that lasted for one and half hours caused heavy damages to LTTE bases at PULIPANCHIKAL and THARAVIKULAM.
No injuries were reported to soldiers.
Meanwhile, VAVUNITIVU Army detachment in BATTICALOA was fired upon by LTTE using Artillery and Mortars today (24) around 5.45 am..
The same detachment came under LTTE fire Saturday (23) evening around 7.30.
Troops retaliated with artillery and mortars.
No injuries were reported to troops.
Jetliner With Thousand Civilians Arrives In Trincomalee
TRINCOMALEE: THE NAVY VESSEL “JETLINER” arrived in TRINCOMALEE harbour this morning (24). The ship left KANKESANTHURAI last evening (23) with 1000 civilians stranded in
This was its fourth voyage to transport stranded civilians from
Sunday, 24 September 2006
SLMC Leader Rauff Hakeem wrote an official letter to President Mahinda Rajapakse in order to clarify the position of the SLMC on the sinister campaign carried forward by some newspapers backing the sinhala extremist groups and some members of the security forces that the SLMC is anti STF and the Muslims are the dead enemies of the STF. The SLMC reiterated its position that the STF is the only security hope for the Muslim Community living in the North Eastern province and they had valiantly fought the LTTE to safeguard the Muslim villages whenever there were atrocities unleashed against the Muslim Community by the LTTE in the past. SLMC is pointing its accusing finger to those anti social and communally behaving bad elements infiltrated in the security forces which had been the main cause for the frequent communal clashes seen in Pottuvil area in the past two to three years. Some responsible Ministers are also making serious statements to set the STF against the Muslims and the SLMC without any basis and refusing to listen to all the explanations put out by the SLMC.
Over 2,000 Muslims have fled from Mutur in the Trincomalee district of Eastern Sri Lanka, after a leaflet, believed to have been issued by a front organization of the LTTE, announced that the Tamil militant group is going to launch a fresh military offensive.
The last military offensive and the counter offensive by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces had taken place in the first week of August, resulting in over 50,000 people, mostly Muslims, fleeing Mutur town and its surroundings.
Reports reaching
The last time the Muslims came to Kantalai and Kinniya, the local Sinhalas feared that they might settled down their permanently. The government had to pressurise the refugees to get back to Mutur.
LTTE denies issuing leaflet
Denying any responsibility for the leaflet, the LTTE's political leader for Trincomalee district, Elilan, said that the Tamil Tigers had nothing to do with the organisation in whose name the leaflets appeared.
Elilan told the pro-LTTE Tamil website www.puthinam.com that the leaflets were distributed by the Sri Lankan government to drive a wedge between the Muslims and Tamils of Mutur.
"But despite the denial, people are leaving. Fear has gripped them, given past experience," an informed source in Trincomalee town told Hindustan Times over phone.
"A few weeks before the LTTE occupation of Mutur in August, a similar leaflet was distributed and therefore a second leaflet had created legitimate fears among the Muslims in the area that this too would indicate another LTTE attack," said Rauff Hakeem, Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC).
While noting the LTTE's denial of any involvement, Hakeem said, "As the leader of the country's main Muslim party I kindly request the LTTE leadership to issue a public statement denying any LTTE involvement in the leaflets and prevent another humanitarian crisis if the LTTE did not have any hand in them."
The short but brutal war, which began with the LTTE's occupation of Mutur on August 2, claimed many lives and led to the displacement of 50,000 people, mostly Muslims.
But even as these people were resettling themselves in Mutur after the end of the hostilities, a leaflet issued by the "Tamil Eelam Redemption Force" on Friday, announced that the LTTE was to launch a strong attack on the government forces in Mutur and advised the Muslims to leave the area to avoid being used by the government forces as a "human shield".
New York, Sept 24: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged her Sri Lankan counterpart to make a concerted effort in planned peace talks with rebels from the country`s Tamil minority, a senior US official said.
Meeting with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly yesterday, Rice voiced strong support for Norwegian-mediated efforts to halt a resurgence in fighting between government forces and the rebel liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
"She urged the government to engage in a focused, concerted way with the Norwegians as they try to start another round of negotiations with the LTTE," the senior official said on condition he not be identified.
The warring parties agreed last week in
A flare-up in tit-for-tat violence over the past 10 months has left more than 1,500 people dead and left the truced accord in tatters.
Rebels among the Hindu Tamil minority have waged a drawn-out insurgency for a separate ethnic homeland in the North and East of Sri Lanka, a majority Sinhalese Buddhist nation.
More than 60,000 people have died since the rebellion began in 1972.
Bureau Report
MALLAWARACHI - Associated Press Writer -
Separately, suspected Tamil rebels fatally shot a Tamil civilian in the northwest overnight and troops found the bullet-riddled bodies of three civilians in the northern
There was no immediate comment from the Tamil rebels, who began fighting in 1983 for a separate homeland in the north and east for
Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar on Friday met the Tamil Tigers' political leader, Suppiah Thamilselvan, in the northern rebel stronghold Kilinochchi. The two discussed a recent rash of abductions, the rebels said on their official Web site. No additional details were available.
Hundreds of civilians have been killed or have disappeared in shadowy circumstances since December, when the latest surge of fighting began in earnest.
Police on Friday detained a suspected separatist who was transporting explosive belts, a Claymore mine, remote controls and detonators to the capital in a hidden fuel tank, military officials said.
A high-ranking military official said he believed the suspect was plotting to target top government or military officials. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of military regulations.
The arrest came five months after suspected rebels plotted a failed suicide attack against the country's top-ranking military official, Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka.
