Sri Lankan military says it has killed 49 rebels

Sri Lankan forces captured a Tamil Tiger supply center and bombed a rebel training base amid a surge in the island's civil war that killed 49 insurgents and two soldiers, the military said Friday.

"This shows that the soldiers are moving forward, gaining ground," military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said.

The army offensives are taking place in areas with a lot of rebel fighters, leading to the high death tolls, he said.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not immediately be reached for comment.

The government has vowed to crush the Tamil Tigers and capture the vast area controlled by the rebels by the end of this year.

In the latest fighting, troops seized a key supply base Thursday in the northern Vavuniya district that was used to replenish the Tamil Tigers' front line troops, Nanayakkara said.

The battle, as well as two other clashes in Vavuniya, killed 30 rebels, he said.

Other fighting Thursday along the front lines in the Mannar and Welioya regions bordering the rebels' de facto state in the north killed 19 rebels and two soldiers, he said.

The military said fighting over the past week has killed 180 rebels and 19 soldiers. Analysts accuse both sides of exaggerating enemy losses and underreporting their own casualties.

Meanwhile, air force fighter jets pounded a rebel training base Friday deep inside rebel territory, the army said. Nanayakkara did not provide details of damage or casualties, but said the pilots confirmed that the target was hit.

It was not possible to independently verify the military reports because journalists are banned from the northern jungles where much of the fighting takes place.

The Tamil Tiger rebels have fought since 1983 to create an independent state for ethnic minority Tamils, who have been marginalized by successive governments controlled by ethnic Sinhalese. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Source: AP

SriLankan to fly six times a week to Colombo from Doha

SriLankan Airlines yesterday announced it will be increasing its frequencies to Colombo out of Doha to six times a week with effect from July 15. The airline uses Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft on the route.

The flights will depart from Doha daily except Saturday. Three flights a week will be routed via Bahrain, Mohamed Fazeel, SriLankan Airlines Regional Manager (Middle East, Africa and CIS), said yesterday.

The increased frequencies can be attributed in part to the Sri Lankan government's moves to increase tourism from the GCC. A special promotion is also being offered where two children aged 12 and under will be allowed to fly free. Arrangements have been made with certain hotels in Sri Lanka as well as ground services like airport transfers to ensure the package is carried forward there, Fazeel said.

"We have confidence in this (Doha) market. This has been a profitable route for the airline in comparison to points like Dubai, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Muscat. Doha and Bahrain are the only routes on which we have increased frequencies," he said.

Bookings for the holiday package have to be completed by July 15 and the promotion runs until August 31. "We hope to attract more Qataris to Sri Lanka. This is the peak time for Arabs in the region to travel. If all goes well, we may even extend the promotion," said Fazeel.

Last year, 800 nationals visited Sri Lanka from Qatar and another 1,800 residents went to the island-nation last year. SriLankan is also touting its easy connections to destinations in the Far East, via Colombo, to points like Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

The airline, like most others around the world, has been hit by the rising costs of jet fuel, forcing it to raise fares by 10 to 15 percent across the board. "We are trying to cut down costs but not in passenger-related areas. There has been staff cuts and e-ticketing has helped us reduces costs in printing tickets," said Fazeel.

Asked about whether Emirates would sell its 43 percent stake in Sri Lanka's national airline, Fazeel said it was up to the Dubai-based carrier to decide. Although Emirates continues to hold on to SriLankan shares, it has relinquished management control.

After Emirates gave up management control, rumours abounded about other carriers moving in to pick up Emirates' shares, including Qatar Airways, which firmly denied it had any interest. Other names mentioned include India's Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines.

SriLankan operates a fleet of 14 all-Airbus aircraft. Although no acquisition of jets is planned, the airline is looking to 're-fleet' its Airbus A320 aircraft through leases of jets.

Source: thepeninsulaqatar

LTTE rebels sourcing explosives from India

Indian intelligence agencies said Sri Lanka's rebels are sourcing raw materials for explosives from two major Indian cities.

According to a senior Intelligence Bureau official, armed guerrillas of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are sourcing raw materials for explosives and ammunition from Information Technology city Bangalore and industrial city Mumbai, previously called Bombay.

India's enforcement agencies seized an important commercial consignment of chemicals, which is used in making explosives, at Madurai in southern Tamil Nadu state last month. It was dispatched from Bangalore and was meant for delivery to the LTTE, who have been waging an armed battle against the island government demanding independence.

The consignment -- 500 kilograms (more than 1,100 pounds) of a variety of chemicals including diphenylamine sulfates, some chlorate salts and acids -- was seized minutes before it was to be offloaded at a transit point, the enforcement department said.

"The seized chemicals can be altered to make explosives. The consignment was marked commercial and was to be handed over to some locals and Sri Lankans, who were assigned with the task of smuggling it to Sri Lanka. "We have arrested some people and are investigating the case," said an official.

Source: upi

Torture endemic in Sri Lanka police-rights group

Torture has become endemic in Sri Lankan police stations and there seems to be no political will to stop it, an Asian human rights group said today.

The Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission said torture was standard procedure both in investigating ordinary crimes and as part of the civil war with Tamil Tiger rebels.

The government said the allegations were baseless.

Despite thousands of complaints, the commission said the attorney general's office had only launched three prosecutions against alleged official torturers.

''Torture is a way of life at all police stations in Sri Lanka, whether the alleged crimes investigated are those relating to petty criminal offences, serious crimes or offences under the emergency and anti-terrorism laws,'' the commission said in a statement.

Rights watchdogs have reported hundreds of abductions, disappearances and killings blamed on government security forces and Tamil Tiger separatists since a bloody civil war, in which 70,000 people have died since 1983, resumed in 2006.

The commission also said investigations into torture were being politically prevented to protect Sri Lanka's human rights record, and that the lack of political will to eradicate torture affected the entire administration of justice.

International observers quit the island earlier this year, saying a probe into a string of high-profile killings, including the massacre of 17 local aid staff in 2006, was going nowhere.

The UN Human Rights Council has called on Sri Lanka to investigate allegations of killings and disappearances and prosecute those responsible, including members of the security forces.

Fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger guerrillas has intensified since the government formally pulled out of a six-year-old ceasefire pact in January.

The Tamil Tigers, who are fighting for an independent state for minority Tamils in the north and east of the island, have hit back with a campaign of suicide attacks.

Source: deepikaglobal

31 LTTE cadres, two soldiers killed in Lanka clashes

At least 31 LTTE cadres and two soldiers were killed in fierce clashes in Sri Lanka's embattled northern region where army captured a portion of the rebel-held territory, officials in Colombo said on Wednesday.

As many as ten LTTE cadres were killed in confrontations with security forces as troops brought under their control areas in Mullikkandal, Minnaniranchan and Marattikannadi in Mannar region, the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) said.

The army also said it had captured three square kms of area in north of Adampan in Mannar.

Another three Tiger rebels were killed in two different confrontations in Periyamadu in Vavuniya yesterday, the MCNS said.

While three rebels were shot dead in Nedunkandal in Mannar, two others were killed in Anandakulam in the region, the military said.

Two LTTE cadres were killed in Sirimullikulam in Mannar yesterday, the MCNS said, adding another rebel was gunned down in Weerapirayan area in the region.

At least three LTTE cadres were shot dead and 18 others injured in different incidents in Kiriibanwewa in northeast Welioya, the military said.

Separately, troops killed seven rebels and injured nine in confrontations in Welioya, the MCNS said, adding two soldiers also lost their lives.

Meanwhile, the Defence Ministry said at least 20 civilians fled from the LTTE-held areas in Mullaithivue and Malayanwadu and reached a Sri Lankan army point seeking protection.

"Security forces personnel have provided all the necessities for the escapees and steps have already been taken by the government officials to provide safe shelter for them," it said.

Source: hindustantimes

Karunanidhi, Vaiko protest attacks on Indian fishermen

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressing concern over the Sri Lankan navy repeatedly opening fire on Indian fishermen in the waters between the two countries. A copy of his letter was given to the media here by the chief minister’s office.

In his letter, Karunanidhi urged the union government to ensure that the “rights and privileges of the Indian fishermen to carry on their normal occupation of fishing in the waters of Katchatheevu (an island in Palk Strait)) must be recognised and restored”.

Reminding the government of the 1974 and 1976 agreements between India and Sri Lanka, Karunanidhi said, “Fishermen were allowed to dry their nets in Katchatheevu but were prohibited from fishing in Sri Lankan territorial waters around Katchatheevu following executive instructions”, which, he pointed out “did not flow from the two agreements”.

“…they were executive instructions and cannot supersede the provisions of the legally valid agreement entered into by the two countries”, Karunanidhi said.

The executive orders have caused a great deal of hardship to Indian fishermen over the years as their “traditional rights” in Katchatheevu have been denied them.

“Time and again our fishermen have been arrested, attacked and shot dead in these waters. Each one of these incidents has shocked the people of the state and rocked the legislative assembly,” the note said.

“I urge the Government of India to take necessary steps to protect the precious lives of Indian fishermen and also to ensure their livelihood,” Karunanidhi said in his letter.

MDMK general secretary Vaiko too wrote to the prime minister Tuesday, urging him to boycott the forthcoming SAARC meeting in Sri Lanka because of the attacks on ethnic Tamils in the neighbouring country.

Source: thaindian

Tamil Nadu govt. orders survey to detect property purchases by Lankan refugees

The Tamil Nadu government has ordered the revenue department to undertake a detailed account of movable and immovable properties owned by Sri Lankan refugees in the state.

As per the government policy, refugees should not be allowed to buy property in the country. But it was not followed, leading to complications in some localities.

An official told PTI the Central government has sent several circulars asking the officials to keep a watch on the purchase of properties by the refugees.

The officials of the Q-Branch and the revenue department would conduct an initial survey of the properties owned by the refugees, followed by a detailed survey which would cover vehicles also.

With the officials having the list of refugees staying inside and outside the camps, it should not be a problem to find out the purchases made by the refugees, officials said.

But if the properties had been bought outside the state or in the border areas, it would be a problem. The officials would approach the residential localities where the refugees were staying and find out if any purchase had been made.

The help of the sub-registrar office also had been sought to find out the details.

The details about workshops, industrial units etc owned by the refugees were also being collected. The properties included land, house sites, houses, two-wheelers and heavy vehicles.

Source: Hindu

Clashes Kill 18 In Northern Sri Lanka

At least 16 Tamil Tiger rebels and two security personnel were killed in fresh clashes in Sri Lanka's restive northern region, the military said on Sunday.

Sri Lankan troops on Saturday had several confrontations in the Navatkulama, Chiraddikulama, Palamodai, Mundimurippu, Navvi and Kurukkolkulam areas on the Vavuniya front, the defense ministry said.

One security personnel lost his life in a The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) booby trap suspected to have been set up by the rebels in Jaffna's in Kilaly area on Sunday morning, the ministry reportedly confirmed.

It was not possible to independently verify the military's claims because media are banned from the northern jungles where much of the fighting takes place.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels have been battling for an independent homeland since 1972 in an ethnic conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Source: AHN

Bomb detected on Kandy rail track

A bomb fixed to the rail track at Nawalayatenna on the Kandy-Matale line was detected and defused yesterday evening, Central Province Deputy Inspector General Kingsley Ekananyaka said.
He said the bomb, weighing 750 grams and containing C4 explosives, was found close to the place where a bomb exploded damaging the track last month.

Source: sundaytimes

ALSO:

The STF defused a 6kg claymore recovered by workers cleaning a cannal in Kettarama, Colombo this afternoon.

dm

28 Lankan fishermen held: India

Indian Coast Guard on Saturday caught 28 Sri Lankan fishermen for allegedly crossing into Indian waters and handed them over to the police here.

The fishermen were taken into custody by the Coastguard personnel of the vessel "Sagar" when they were fishing at 65 nautical miles from Kanyakumari in the exclusive economic zone of India around midnight last night, police said.

The Indian Coast Guard DIG Raghuvanshi ordered that the fishermen, who were fishing in six boats, be taken into custody, they said.

Police have arrested them, the sources said.

The boats were also handed over to police.

Source: Hindu