Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Sri Lanka: post war turmoil

  • Sri Lanka army kills 11 Tamil rebels in east
    COLOMBO (AP) – The Sri Lankan military says it has killed 11 suspected Tamil rebels in the eastern jungles, in the biggest clash since declaring victory against the insurgents last week. The army said the soldiers recovered assault rifles, 20 Claymore mines, and a handful of grenades and anti-personnel mines along with the bodies of 11 men near the southeastern town of Ampara. Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said the troops were on a mission Wednesday to flush out the remnants of the Tamil Tigers in the eastern jungles when they attacked a group of rebels. He said the soldiers suffered no casualties. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.

Sri Lanka urged at U.N. to ensure Tamils get aid

Sri Lankan Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe during a UN Human Rights Council special session on Sri Lanka in Geneva on May 26. Sri Lanka said Wednesday it was confident of averting an international probe into alleged war crimes committed during its blistering offensive against the Tamil Tigers (AFP/Fabrice Coffrini).

GENEVA (Reuters) – Sri Lanka must ensure nearly 300,000 people who fled their homes in the final throes of its civil war receive the aid they need, the United States and other governments said on Wednesday.

At a special session of the 47-member U.N. Human Rights Council, dozens of countries also called for Colombo to give its minority Tamils and Muslims a political voice to ensure lasting peace in a country where Sinhalese are an ethnic majority.

Sri Lanka's minister of disaster management and rights, Mahinda Samarasinghe, told the Geneva forum his government recognized the need to help those displaced in its drive to crush Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) separatists.

"It is our duty to give them not only minimal standards but decent standards," he said, thanking Sri Lanka's allies China and India for their donations of tents and other supplies.

He dismissed concerns raised by the Red Cross and other aid groups who have been kept out of camps like Manik Farm, which holds about 210,000 people uprooted by the war. More>>

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