S.Lanka boat explodes as navy goes to search it
COLOMBO, Feb 11 (Reuters) - A fishing boat exploded when a Sri Lankan naval patrol boat approached it near rebel Tamil Tiger territory on Saturday, international truce monitors said they had been told by the military.
A military source said it might have been a rebel Sea Tiger boat that blew itself up when stopped by a naval patrol rather than be searched. A naval spokesman said he had no precise details of the incident, but that one sailor had been wounded.
"The report from the navy is that it was a fishing boat and when the Dvora (naval patrol boat) approached, there was an explosion on board," said Helen Olafsdottir, spokeswoman for the Nordic mission which monitors a 2002 ceasefire.
A string of suspected rebel attacks on troops in the minority Tamil dominated north and east pushed Sri Lanka to the brink of war, but tensions have fallen since late January when the two sides agreed to hold direct talks in Switzerland.
A military source said it might have been a rebel Sea Tiger boat that blew itself up when stopped by a naval patrol rather than be searched. A naval spokesman said he had no precise details of the incident, but that one sailor had been wounded.
"The report from the navy is that it was a fishing boat and when the Dvora (naval patrol boat) approached, there was an explosion on board," said Helen Olafsdottir, spokeswoman for the Nordic mission which monitors a 2002 ceasefire.
A string of suspected rebel attacks on troops in the minority Tamil dominated north and east pushed Sri Lanka to the brink of war, but tensions have fallen since late January when the two sides agreed to hold direct talks in Switzerland.
posted by Marko at 2/11/2006 08:20:00 AM
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