Rebel attacks kill more Sri Lankan soldiers
ISN SECURITY WATCH (27/12/05) – At least 11 soldiers were killed and eight others wounded when suspected Tamil Tiger guerrillas carried out a claymore mine attack in Sri Lanka’s strife-torn northern Jaffna peninsula on Tuesday.
Injured soldiers have been admitted to the hospital in Palaly and arrangements were underway to fly some of them to the capital, Colombo.
Sri Lankan military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarsinghe said a three-vehicle military convoy carrying soldiers going on leave hit the mine.
“At Puloly West one truck was caught up in the explosion. In that [truck] there were 14 soldiers. Of them, ten died on the spot and another died in the hospital,” he said.
“There is no doubt that the attack was carried out by the Tamil Tigers,” a senior military officer in Jaffna told ISN Security Watch. “No other organization in the country has the capacity to carry out such attacks and also no one else is interested in attacking the armed forces.”
Reports from Jaffna said two other vehicles belonging to a nongovernmental organization involved in de-mining operations were confiscated by armed men wearing masks.
Over the past month, Sri Lankan troops have come under frequent claymore mine attacks and firing by suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.
Last week, 13 naval ratings were killed when their bus was attacked in the northwestern town of Mannar. The sailors were heading towards the capital to celebrate Christmas with their families.
A day before that attack, suspected Tamil Tigers fired upon navy patrol boats, killing three sailors.
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, which oversees the implementation of the three-year ceasefire, said the LTTE had violated the ceasefire in that attack.
However, the mission’s ruling and appeals from the international community have not helped to halt the low intensity war. Frequent attacks have taken place, targeting armed forces personnel and policemen deployed in the country’s north and east.
The internecine war within the Tamil Tigers has also claimed a few non-military lives. On Christmas Eve, senior Tamil politician Joseph Pararajasingham was gunned down by unknown assailants while attending midnight Mass in a church in the eastern Batticaloa district. Pararajasingham died on the spot and his wife sustained serious injuries.
The Sri Lankan armed forces and the LTTE have blamed each other for the assassination, while observers say the murder could have been the handiwork of a renegade group that broke away from the LTTE.
The LTTE called for a day-long strike to protest the assassination, and has honored Pararajasingham with the title of “Mamanithar”, or the great hero.
The Sri Lankan government appealed to the international community to pressure the Tamil Tigers to end the cycle of violence. Newly elected Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has invited the rebels for a fresh round of talks to move the peace process forward.
In the wake of increased violence, the ambassadors of Britain, Norway, Japan, and the EU traveled to the northern Wanni mainland to meet with the political leader of the LTTE, S. P. Tamilselvan.
However, the outcome of that meeting was less than encouraging. The Tamil Tigers told the diplomats they had no control over the violence in the northern peninsula. Tamilselvan told the ambassadors that the LTTE was prepared for talks, but only if held in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.
President Rajapakse is not in favor of holding discussions in Oslo. He had agreed to an invitation by Japan to hold talks in Tokyo, seeking an Asian rather than European venue. However, the LTTE rejected that proposal, insisting on Oslo negotiations, as Norway has so far been the main interlocutor in the peace process.
Analysts believe that the Tamil Tigers have stepped up attacks in an attempt to pressure the government to begin peace talks in Oslo and to agree to some of the conditions that the LTTE would propose for holding the negotiations.
In November, the LTTE threatened to resume their armed struggle unless the government agreed to grant the Tamil minority wide political powers in the north and east.
Sri Lanka has been paralyzed for 20 years by an ethnic conflict that has left some 70,000 people dead and millions displaced. The LTTE is fighting for more autonomy and rights for minority Tamils.
(By Ravi Prasad in Colombo)
Injured soldiers have been admitted to the hospital in Palaly and arrangements were underway to fly some of them to the capital, Colombo.
Sri Lankan military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarsinghe said a three-vehicle military convoy carrying soldiers going on leave hit the mine.
“At Puloly West one truck was caught up in the explosion. In that [truck] there were 14 soldiers. Of them, ten died on the spot and another died in the hospital,” he said.
“There is no doubt that the attack was carried out by the Tamil Tigers,” a senior military officer in Jaffna told ISN Security Watch. “No other organization in the country has the capacity to carry out such attacks and also no one else is interested in attacking the armed forces.”
Reports from Jaffna said two other vehicles belonging to a nongovernmental organization involved in de-mining operations were confiscated by armed men wearing masks.
Over the past month, Sri Lankan troops have come under frequent claymore mine attacks and firing by suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.
Last week, 13 naval ratings were killed when their bus was attacked in the northwestern town of Mannar. The sailors were heading towards the capital to celebrate Christmas with their families.
A day before that attack, suspected Tamil Tigers fired upon navy patrol boats, killing three sailors.
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, which oversees the implementation of the three-year ceasefire, said the LTTE had violated the ceasefire in that attack.
However, the mission’s ruling and appeals from the international community have not helped to halt the low intensity war. Frequent attacks have taken place, targeting armed forces personnel and policemen deployed in the country’s north and east.
The internecine war within the Tamil Tigers has also claimed a few non-military lives. On Christmas Eve, senior Tamil politician Joseph Pararajasingham was gunned down by unknown assailants while attending midnight Mass in a church in the eastern Batticaloa district. Pararajasingham died on the spot and his wife sustained serious injuries.
The Sri Lankan armed forces and the LTTE have blamed each other for the assassination, while observers say the murder could have been the handiwork of a renegade group that broke away from the LTTE.
The LTTE called for a day-long strike to protest the assassination, and has honored Pararajasingham with the title of “Mamanithar”, or the great hero.
The Sri Lankan government appealed to the international community to pressure the Tamil Tigers to end the cycle of violence. Newly elected Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has invited the rebels for a fresh round of talks to move the peace process forward.
In the wake of increased violence, the ambassadors of Britain, Norway, Japan, and the EU traveled to the northern Wanni mainland to meet with the political leader of the LTTE, S. P. Tamilselvan.
However, the outcome of that meeting was less than encouraging. The Tamil Tigers told the diplomats they had no control over the violence in the northern peninsula. Tamilselvan told the ambassadors that the LTTE was prepared for talks, but only if held in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.
President Rajapakse is not in favor of holding discussions in Oslo. He had agreed to an invitation by Japan to hold talks in Tokyo, seeking an Asian rather than European venue. However, the LTTE rejected that proposal, insisting on Oslo negotiations, as Norway has so far been the main interlocutor in the peace process.
Analysts believe that the Tamil Tigers have stepped up attacks in an attempt to pressure the government to begin peace talks in Oslo and to agree to some of the conditions that the LTTE would propose for holding the negotiations.
In November, the LTTE threatened to resume their armed struggle unless the government agreed to grant the Tamil minority wide political powers in the north and east.
Sri Lanka has been paralyzed for 20 years by an ethnic conflict that has left some 70,000 people dead and millions displaced. The LTTE is fighting for more autonomy and rights for minority Tamils.
(By Ravi Prasad in Colombo)
posted by Marko at 12/27/2005 09:03:00 AM
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