WAR IN SRI LANKA TO BE FINISHED WITHIN 48 HOURS
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka's president vowed to end the decades-old war against the Tamil Tiger rebels within 48 hours as the military battled Friday to take complete control of the country's coastline.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa (photo) said thousands of civilians still in the war zone will be quickly freed from a tiny slice of land still controlled by the guerrillas, formally known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
"The freedom of the Tamil civilians held hostage by the LTTE is near at hand and the rescue of all civilians in the small patch of land held by the LTTE will be done in 48 hours," Rajapaksa told migrant workers in Jordan on Thursday.
As the fighting raged, hundreds of desperate war refugees escaped the conflict zone and a top U.N. official headed here on an urgent mission to safeguard the tens of thousands of civilians still trapped amid the heavy shelling.
The government has forced the rebels out of the de facto state they once controlled in the north and cornered them in a 1.5-square mile (four-square kilometer) strip
of northeastern coastline.
Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told The Associated Press in Jordan that Sri Lankan soldiers were probably fighting their final battle against the remaining rebel fighters.He said reports have indicated that relatives of top rebel leaders are starting to flee the war zone.
Mean while the Red Cross said the trapped civilians inside the war zone were taking cover in bunkers they had dug in the ground and were finding it even more difficult to get scarce drinking water and food.
Courtesy: AP
President Mahinda Rajapaksa (photo) said thousands of civilians still in the war zone will be quickly freed from a tiny slice of land still controlled by the guerrillas, formally known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
"The freedom of the Tamil civilians held hostage by the LTTE is near at hand and the rescue of all civilians in the small patch of land held by the LTTE will be done in 48 hours," Rajapaksa told migrant workers in Jordan on Thursday.
As the fighting raged, hundreds of desperate war refugees escaped the conflict zone and a top U.N. official headed here on an urgent mission to safeguard the tens of thousands of civilians still trapped amid the heavy shelling.
The government has forced the rebels out of the de facto state they once controlled in the north and cornered them in a 1.5-square mile (four-square kilometer) strip
of northeastern coastline.Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told The Associated Press in Jordan that Sri Lankan soldiers were probably fighting their final battle against the remaining rebel fighters.He said reports have indicated that relatives of top rebel leaders are starting to flee the war zone.
Mean while the Red Cross said the trapped civilians inside the war zone were taking cover in bunkers they had dug in the ground and were finding it even more difficult to get scarce drinking water and food.
Courtesy: AP
SRI LANKA'S MILITARY SHELLING KILLS HUNDREDS
The Sri Lankan military has killed more than 250 civilians in artillery attacks, according to a doctor in the war zone. Another 814 people were injured in overnight attacks beginning on Saturday in the last area held by the secessionist Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eelam (LTTE).V Shanmugarajah, a physician working in the northeastern war zone, said that 257 bodies had been brought to the makeshift government hospital he runs.
He said that he feared many more people may have been killed as some bodies were being buried on the spot.Shanmugarajah said that shells flew through the sky overnight, with some falling close to the hospital.
According to the pro-Tamil website, TamilNet, about 2,000 people were killed in the artillery fire.
Brad Adams, the Asia director of Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera that the government's heavy artillery fire has hit civilians.
Courtesy: Al Jazeera
UN REPORT DISCLOSES SRI LANKA DEAD
Nearly 6,432 civilians have been killed and 13,946 wounded in fighting in Sri Lanka over the past three months, according to a UN report.
The release of the document on Friday comes two days after Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, said in Brussels he was sending a team of humanitarian experts to the country as part of efforts to "try to do whatever we can to protect the civilian population".
Speaking in New York, Catherine Bragg, the UN assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said the organisation continued to receive reports that "heavy weaponry is being used and the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) is preventing people form leaving that area and using the civilians as human shields".
The government has said that, since Monday, 104,862 civilians have escaped the conflict between the Sinhalese who are in power and the Tamil minority who say they are being marginalised.
The release of the document on Friday comes two days after Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, said in Brussels he was sending a team of humanitarian experts to the country as part of efforts to "try to do whatever we can to protect the civilian population".Speaking in New York, Catherine Bragg, the UN assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said the organisation continued to receive reports that "heavy weaponry is being used and the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) is preventing people form leaving that area and using the civilians as human shields".
The government has said that, since Monday, 104,862 civilians have escaped the conflict between the Sinhalese who are in power and the Tamil minority who say they are being marginalised.
Civilian casualties have been rising in the conflict zone where the military has been trying to finish off the armed rebellion, according to Doctors Without Borders.People with untreated blast, mine and gunshot wounds are reported to be among more than 100,000 civilians pouring out of the war zone.
SRI LANKA ASSAULT DEADLINE PASSES
The deadline set by the Sri Lankan government for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to surrender or face a "final assault" has passed without the LTTE surrendering. The ultimatum, which was set for noon (06:30 GMT) on Tuesday, caused tens of thousands of civilians to leave the island nation's northeastern war zone, the military said.
More than 49,000 people have poured out of region since the 24-hour deadline was given on Monday.
Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, a military spokesman, said on Tuesday: "So far 49,054 people have come out and still people are coming in. Troops are expanding the area under their control."
There was no response to the deadline from the LTTE.
Lakshiman Hulugalle, a Sri Lankan defence ministry spokesman, told Al Jazeera that a post-deadline military plan had not yet been finalised.
"What we have requested the LTTE leaders and LTTE cadres is to lay down arms and surrender themselves. So when we start operations, the LTTE leaders have to face that and they have no option but getting killed," he said.
International organisations continue to highlight the vulnerability of citizens in the area, whose safe passage out of the region the government had promised on Monday.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday that between 50,000 and 100,000 people remain stranded in a 17km square "no-fire zone" - the last region controlled by the LTTE.
More than 49,000 people have poured out of region since the 24-hour deadline was given on Monday.Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, a military spokesman, said on Tuesday: "So far 49,054 people have come out and still people are coming in. Troops are expanding the area under their control."
There was no response to the deadline from the LTTE.
Lakshiman Hulugalle, a Sri Lankan defence ministry spokesman, told Al Jazeera that a post-deadline military plan had not yet been finalised.
"What we have requested the LTTE leaders and LTTE cadres is to lay down arms and surrender themselves. So when we start operations, the LTTE leaders have to face that and they have no option but getting killed," he said.International organisations continue to highlight the vulnerability of citizens in the area, whose safe passage out of the region the government had promised on Monday.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday that between 50,000 and 100,000 people remain stranded in a 17km square "no-fire zone" - the last region controlled by the LTTE.
Courtesy: Al Jazeera
EXPLOSION IN SRI LANKA
suspected suicide bomber detonated explosives at a mosque in southern Sri Lanka on Tuesday, killing several people, a police officer told
COLOMBO : Ten people were killed while at least 35 others including a government minister were injured Tuesday morning in a suicide explosion blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels in southern Sri Lanka, defense officials said.
Officials from the Defense Ministry said an LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eealm) suicide bomber attacked the Jumma mosque at Godapitiya, in Akurassa, in the Matara district at around 10:30 a.m. local time (0500 GMT).
The suicide bomber targeted the Islam devotees attending the national Milad-Un-Nabi celebration, held at the mosque which was attended by several ministers and a large number of civilians, the military said.
The Milad-un-Nabi, the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed is celebrated as a national festival in Sri Lanka.
Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said 10 civilians and the suicide bomber were killed while 35 others including Post and Telecommunication Minister Mahinda Wijesekara were injured in the explosion in Matara, about 160 km south of the capital Colombo.
Wijesekara suffered head injuries and was initially treated in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the Matara hospital. Then he was air lifted to the capital Colombo.
"The minister was sent to Colombo for treatment. We have 38 people receiving injuries," said Aruna Jayasekera, the director of the Matara hospital. "There were six ministers present, only one of them were injured," Petroleum Minister A. H. M. Fowzie told reporters. "A special medical team has been sent by air to Matara to attend to urgent medical needs," Hector Weerasinghe, the director of the National Hospital said in Colombo.
The Sri Lankan government has strongly condemned the attack, saying it will only strengthen the government's resolve to end terrorism in the country. "The government condemns in the strongest possible terms the LTTE suicide bomb attack. The attack reaffirms the fact that the LTTE is not only a ruthless terrorist outfit but also one which has no regard or respect for religion," said the government in a statement.
The statement said the attack, deliberately targeting the Muslim Community, underscores the hatred the LTTE, has towards the Muslim population of Sri Lanka.
Courtesy: Xinhua
COLOMBO : Ten people were killed while at least 35 others including a government minister were injured Tuesday morning in a suicide explosion blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels in southern Sri Lanka, defense officials said.Officials from the Defense Ministry said an LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eealm) suicide bomber attacked the Jumma mosque at Godapitiya, in Akurassa, in the Matara district at around 10:30 a.m. local time (0500 GMT).
The suicide bomber targeted the Islam devotees attending the national Milad-Un-Nabi celebration, held at the mosque which was attended by several ministers and a large number of civilians, the military said.
The Milad-un-Nabi, the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed is celebrated as a national festival in Sri Lanka.
Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said 10 civilians and the suicide bomber were killed while 35 others including Post and Telecommunication Minister Mahinda Wijesekara were injured in the explosion in Matara, about 160 km south of the capital Colombo.Wijesekara suffered head injuries and was initially treated in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the Matara hospital. Then he was air lifted to the capital Colombo.
"The minister was sent to Colombo for treatment. We have 38 people receiving injuries," said Aruna Jayasekera, the director of the Matara hospital. "There were six ministers present, only one of them were injured," Petroleum Minister A. H. M. Fowzie told reporters. "A special medical team has been sent by air to Matara to attend to urgent medical needs," Hector Weerasinghe, the director of the National Hospital said in Colombo.
The Sri Lankan government has strongly condemned the attack, saying it will only strengthen the government's resolve to end terrorism in the country. "The government condemns in the strongest possible terms the LTTE suicide bomb attack. The attack reaffirms the fact that the LTTE is not only a ruthless terrorist outfit but also one which has no regard or respect for religion," said the government in a statement.
The statement said the attack, deliberately targeting the Muslim Community, underscores the hatred the LTTE, has towards the Muslim population of Sri Lanka.
Courtesy: Xinhua
TAMIL TIGERS TELL REFUGEES TO DIE WITH THEM
War-weary Sri Lankan refugees begging for food
V. Rasamalar, the mother of two escaped heavy fighting and fled to an army-controlled area.
She and her children are now living with about 1,000 other refugees in a military-run transit camp in the northern city of Vavuniya.
She and her children are now living with about 1,000 other refugees in a military-run transit camp in the northern city of Vavuniya.
The Tamil Tigers gave V. Rasamalar no choice in how she would die. The separatist rebels told her she would die alongside them in Sri Lanka's war zone.
"The organisation said we were going to die anyway if we crossed to the army-controlled area and told us to die with them," said 48-year-old Rasamalar, who fled the northern town of Udayarkattu when soldiers fought their way into it.
More tha
n 36,000 Tamils since January 1 have fled to government-controlled areas, running from the final battles of a 25-year-old war and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels who tried to force them to stay.
"After a long time, at least me and my two children are relieved from hearing the sound of shells and life in a bunker," she told Reuters at a school converted into one of 15 temporary homes for Tamil refugees.
On the run for weeks or months, refugees say they faced the wrath of the rebels, constant combat, perpetual fear and little food or water.
"There is scarce food. Even 15-year-old youth are being forcibly recruited by the LTTE. We were not allowed to leave the war zone. This is the situation of over 200,000 Tamils in that area," S. Selvekumar told Reuters.
Formerly a security guard for an international aid agency, Selvekumar escaped at night in a boat that was rescued by the Sri Lankan navy. But he left his sister behind and still does not know now where she is.
Courtesy: Reuters, Javno and International Herald Tribune
"The organisation said we were going to die anyway if we crossed to the army-controlled area and told us to die with them," said 48-year-old Rasamalar, who fled the northern town of Udayarkattu when soldiers fought their way into it.
More tha
n 36,000 Tamils since January 1 have fled to government-controlled areas, running from the final battles of a 25-year-old war and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels who tried to force them to stay."After a long time, at least me and my two children are relieved from hearing the sound of shells and life in a bunker," she told Reuters at a school converted into one of 15 temporary homes for Tamil refugees.
On the run for weeks or months, refugees say they faced the wrath of the rebels, constant combat, perpetual fear and little food or water.
"There is scarce food. Even 15-year-old youth are being forcibly recruited by the LTTE. We were not allowed to leave the war zone. This is the situation of over 200,000 Tamils in that area," S. Selvekumar told Reuters.
Formerly a security guard for an international aid agency, Selvekumar escaped at night in a boat that was rescued by the Sri Lankan navy. But he left his sister behind and still does not know now where she is.
