Lanka lauds Pak help in fight against terrorism

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wicramanayake has lauded Pakistan for its support to the fight against terrorism in the island nation which is dealing with the "brutal" LTTE outfit.
"We are grateful to Pakistan who have helped us in our times of need and we haven't forgotten it," Wicramanayake said at a function organised by the Pakistan High Commission here recently.

"The friendship between our two countries is of particular importance today because we are both victims of scourge of terrorism." The Sri Lankan Prime Minister remarks came during the launch of two books of the world heritage site of Taxila in Pakistan that were translated into Sinhala language.

"Sri Lanka is fighting with the world's brutal terrorist outfit, the LTTE, and Pakistan is fighting terrorism on their own soil," he said, adding "terrorism is a sickness that is spreading in this part of the world and both our countries are suffering." Wicramanayake also had a dig at some western countries which he said were demanding Colombo to talk to terrorists even though they were not willing to lay down their arms.

Source: chennaionline

10 soldiers and 40 rebels killed in north-western Sri Lanka

Ten soldiers and 40 Tamil rebels were killed and three more soldiers were reported missing during weekend clashes between the two sides in north-western Sri Lanka, the defence ministry said Monday. The deaths were reported in three separate incidents in the Mannar area, 320 kilometres north of the capital, where government troops are trying to push forward into rebel controlled areas.

Five of the soldiers were killed in the Nadunkandal where the Tamil rebels made an attempt to capture the forward defence lines of the army and lost 21 of their cadres, military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkarasaid.

Twelve rebels and three soldiers were also injured in the incident in the fighting that lasted more than one hour.

Four soldiers and eight rebels were killed in a separate clash in the Karukkandal area on Sunday morning. Three soldiers were reported missing after the clash.

Rebels also had launched a mortar attack, killing one soldier, and troops retaliated killing 11 rebels.

Fighting in the north has claimed over 4,000 lives during the past four months, according to the military.

Source: earthtimes