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| Sri Lanka |
| At least 18 killed in Sri Lanka violence |
| 2007-03-01 |
| Sri Lanka escalated sea and land attacks against Tamil Tigers and killed at least 18 people Wednesday, a day after the rebels shelled helicopters carrying diplomats and a minister, officials said. The navy engaged a flotilla of rebel boats off the northeastern coast in a pre-dawn clash, sinking two craft together with at least 15 people, navy spokesman Commander DKP Dassanayake said. The three-hour confrontation with the Liberat on Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) off Pulmoddai wounded at least two navy sailors, he said. “There were about 14 Sea Tiger boats. The navy destabilised two of the boats. We believe about 15 to 16 people were there in the two boats that were destroyed,” Dassanayake said. In southern waters, naval patrol craft fired at a “large ship” which exploded and burnt for over two hours, Dassanayake said. “We contacted the vessel on radio and the information they gave us turned out to be wrong,” he said. “The vessel had no identification marks and after we fired warning shots, they began to attack our patrol craft. We retaliated.” He said the 75-metre (250 feet) long vessel was believed to be carrying a large haul of arms for the Tigers. However, there was no immediate word from the rebels. Military spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said three suspected Tiger rebels were also shot dead by a foot patrol of the elite police Special Task Force commandos in the northwest district of Mannar early Wednesday. The land and sea battles came a day after the Tigers shelled two military helicopters carrying ambassadors from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, European Union and the heads of UN agencies. “The attack was a pre-determined, pre-planned attempt on the lives of the diplomats by the LTTE,” Government defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters on Wednesday. Rambukwella said his initial information was that the German ambassador was also wounded because witnesses had seen him fallen, but the embassy here said their envoy was not hurt. The Tigers said they were unaware diplomats were visiting Batticaloa and blamed the government for risking the foreigners’ lives. At least 20 civilians were wounded in the military shelling, the Tigers added. |
| Posted by:Fred |