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Sri Lanka | ||||
Tamil Tiger killings raise fears for tsunami relief work | ||||
2005-02-09 | ||||
COLOMBO - The killing of a senior Tamil Tiger and five others has cast a shadow over Sri Lanka's post-tsunami reconstruction, which was already engulfed in bickering between the government and the guerrillas.
The government military officials say the attack was carried out by a breakaway faction of the Tamil Tigers led by the former number two in the leadership, known as Karuna. The LTTE, however, has pointed the finger at the army, while the government said the killings had breached a ceasefire in the decades-old ethnic conflict and heightened the risk of a return to war. The pro-rebel Tamilnet.com said the killers were dressed in military uniforms, which took the rebels by surprise.
"How can you construct nearly 120,000 houses for the affected people if there is going to be violence and let us understand that the east is one of the worst affected by the tsunamis," Weeratunga said. For its part, the LTTE also said the killings would hamper relief work. "We fear that these killings would have a serious impact on the humanitarian relief work undertaken now," the rebels said in a statement late Tuesday. Relations between the government and the rebels have deteriorated over aid distribution across the regions controlled by the rebels. The rebels have accused the government of dragging its feet on setting up a joint mechanism to distribute aid, a move backed by Norway. Front organisations of the LTTE have often accused the government forces of harassment while handling aid materials in Tamil-dominated areas. Military analyst Harry Gunatillake said the post-tsunami work may be affected if the relations worsen. "In the immediate future there may not be any reaction to the killings, but if clashes increase there could be delays," he said.
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Posted by:Steve White |