Sri Lanka sailors killed in mine explosion
ISN SECURITY WATCH (13/01/06) – At least ten Sri Lanka Navy personnel have been killed and six others wounded when a bus carrying sailors through the northern Vavuniya district drove over a mine, detonating it.
Sri Lankan Defense Ministry spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarsinghe told ISN Security Watch that the late Thursday explosion took place when the bus was nearing the village of Chettikulam, a few kilometers west of the town of Vavuniya.
The sailors, who were off duty, were coming from the northwestern naval base in Mannar district. The powerful explosion destroyed the bus
Brigadier Samarsinghe said eight sailors were killed on the spot while two others died in the navy hospital.
The government has accused the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of carrying out the attack.
“The government has been acting with so much restraint but the LTTE continues to violate the cease-fire agreement,” government spokesman and Cabinet minister Nimal Siripala de Silva was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.
This is the second such attack on navy personnel on the Mannar-Vavuniya road. An earlier attack killed 13 sailors.
The Tamil Tigers are believed to have carried out several attacks on security forces over the past two months. So far, 94 security force personnel have been killed and scores injured in mine explosions, grenade attacks, and sniper attacks in the northern Jaffna peninsula and the eastern Trincomalee district.
Last week, suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bombers sunk an Israeli-built Dvora patrol boat belonging to the Sri Lanka Navy, killing 13 sailors.
Such attacks have brought the fragile, four-year-old ceasefire under tremendous pressure.
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), which oversees the maintenance of the ceasefire agreement, has condemned the attacks and expressed serious concern about the fate of the ceasefire agreement.
“This attack is yet another serious blow to the Ceasefire Agreement, and SLMM believes that if such attacks or retaliation for such attacks continue the Ceasefire Agreement will be over. Over 100 people were killed last month half of which were civilians,” the SLMM said in a statement. “Killings and serious attacks continue and the situation is getting worse. It is our assessment that if the parties don't react immediately they risk going back to war.”
The Tamil Tigers have consistently denied their involvement in the attacks, but neither the government nor the Scandinavian ceasefire monitors are willing to accept these denials.
“Various actors in the international community have blamed the LTTE for attacking government troops, but the LTTE has continuously denied any involvement. The LTTE claims that ‘the people’ are behind the attacks on the military. The SLMM finds this explanation unacceptable. It is safe to say that LTTE involvement cannot be ruled out and we find the LTTE’s indifference to these attacks worrying,” the SLMM said.
The hostilities have led to the displacement of civilians in the north and east. Reports from northern Jaffna and the eastern Trincomalee districts indicate that a large number of families have begun moving from the government controlled regions to the areas administered by the Tamil Tigers.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that a steady flow of refugees has also begun from Mannar towards the southern Indian coast, which is some 20 minutes away by speedboat.
The international community has expressed concern over increasing violence. The EU has called on the government and the LTTE to hold talks, warning that a return to civil war would cause “massive human suffering”.
“It is imperative that the government, other political parties, and the Tamil Tigers heed the call of the people and join hands to arrest the spread of violence,” the EU said in a statement issued in the capital, Colombo.
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)
Sri Lankan Defense Ministry spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarsinghe told ISN Security Watch that the late Thursday explosion took place when the bus was nearing the village of Chettikulam, a few kilometers west of the town of Vavuniya.
The sailors, who were off duty, were coming from the northwestern naval base in Mannar district. The powerful explosion destroyed the bus
Brigadier Samarsinghe said eight sailors were killed on the spot while two others died in the navy hospital.
The government has accused the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of carrying out the attack.
“The government has been acting with so much restraint but the LTTE continues to violate the cease-fire agreement,” government spokesman and Cabinet minister Nimal Siripala de Silva was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.
This is the second such attack on navy personnel on the Mannar-Vavuniya road. An earlier attack killed 13 sailors.
The Tamil Tigers are believed to have carried out several attacks on security forces over the past two months. So far, 94 security force personnel have been killed and scores injured in mine explosions, grenade attacks, and sniper attacks in the northern Jaffna peninsula and the eastern Trincomalee district.
Last week, suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bombers sunk an Israeli-built Dvora patrol boat belonging to the Sri Lanka Navy, killing 13 sailors.
Such attacks have brought the fragile, four-year-old ceasefire under tremendous pressure.
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), which oversees the maintenance of the ceasefire agreement, has condemned the attacks and expressed serious concern about the fate of the ceasefire agreement.
“This attack is yet another serious blow to the Ceasefire Agreement, and SLMM believes that if such attacks or retaliation for such attacks continue the Ceasefire Agreement will be over. Over 100 people were killed last month half of which were civilians,” the SLMM said in a statement. “Killings and serious attacks continue and the situation is getting worse. It is our assessment that if the parties don't react immediately they risk going back to war.”
The Tamil Tigers have consistently denied their involvement in the attacks, but neither the government nor the Scandinavian ceasefire monitors are willing to accept these denials.
“Various actors in the international community have blamed the LTTE for attacking government troops, but the LTTE has continuously denied any involvement. The LTTE claims that ‘the people’ are behind the attacks on the military. The SLMM finds this explanation unacceptable. It is safe to say that LTTE involvement cannot be ruled out and we find the LTTE’s indifference to these attacks worrying,” the SLMM said.
The hostilities have led to the displacement of civilians in the north and east. Reports from northern Jaffna and the eastern Trincomalee districts indicate that a large number of families have begun moving from the government controlled regions to the areas administered by the Tamil Tigers.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that a steady flow of refugees has also begun from Mannar towards the southern Indian coast, which is some 20 minutes away by speedboat.
The international community has expressed concern over increasing violence. The EU has called on the government and the LTTE to hold talks, warning that a return to civil war would cause “massive human suffering”.
“It is imperative that the government, other political parties, and the Tamil Tigers heed the call of the people and join hands to arrest the spread of violence,” the EU said in a statement issued in the capital, Colombo.
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 1/13/2006 08:59:00 AM
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