Sri Lanka

[geo]

Tamil leader Velupillai Prabhakaran....boy - he certainly looks well fed.
Certainly does not look like the Biafran and Bengladeshi leaders of past.

If he threw the dice and had his two colonels fly the missions, there probably aren't any more planes or Pilots... unless he has a general up his sleeve.

 

[Yrys]

Civilian 'slaughter' in Sri Lanka, BBC News

The campaign group, Human Rights Watch, has accused the Sri Lankan army of "slaughter"
and rebels of "brutality" towards civilians in the north-east.

Aid organisations have expressed deep
concern for civilians

It called on the government to end its "indiscriminate artillery attacks" on civilians and
its policy of "detaining displaced persons in internment camps". Human Rights Watch
also condemned the Tamil Tigers for "increased brutality" towards trapped civilians.

The government and rebels both strongly deny targeting civilians.

Top UN humanitarian official John Holmes is currently in Sri Lanka and is visiting camps
of displaced civilians in the north-east.

'Propaganda'

Human Rights Watch said that it had compiled a 45-page report based on a two-week
fact-finding mission to northern Sri Lanka in February. It said "independent monitors"
had told it that some 2,000 civilians had been killed and another 5,000 wounded in
the past month.

James Ross, legal and policy director at Human Rights Watch, said: "This 'war' against
civilians must stop. Sri Lankan forces are shelling hospitals and so-called safe zones
and slaughtering the civilians there." Mr Ross said civilians who escaped were held
"in squalid military-controlled camps" and the government seemed "to be trying its best
to keep its role in their ordeal away from public scrutiny".

The government has not commented directly on the report but says it is doing all it can
to avoid civilian casualties and accuses the rebels of using civilians as human shields.

Human Rights Watch also urged the Tamil Tigers to permit trapped civilians to leave
the war zone and to "stop shooting at those who try to flee". Mr Ross said: "With each
battlefield defeat, the Tamil Tigers appear to be treating Tamil civilians with increased
brutality."

Both the Sri Lankan government and the UN have also accused the rebels of shooting
civilians. Tamil Tiger political chief B Nadesan dismissed the accusations as "malicious
propaganda".  "There are 300,000 people who want to stay with us because they are
confident that we are their guardians," he said.

Independent journalists cannot travel to the war zone so claims on either side cannot
be verified.

Mr Holmes is currently on a three-day visit. On Thursday he urged Sri Lanka's army
and the Tamil Tigers to do everything possible to avoid civilian casualties. "I hope to
hear no more of shootings of people trying to leave or recruitment of children as
soldiers," he said.

The Sri Lankan defence ministry quoted Mr Holmes as saying the UN would help Sri Lanka
to enable the return of normal life and normal democratic politics. Mr Nadesan told the BBC
Sinhala service on Thursday the rebels were prepared to adhere to a ceasefire immediately
if the international community could create a "congenial environment".

The government has regularly dismissed any ceasefire and has vowed to crush the rebels.
Separately, the army said it had found diving equipment and underwater "scooters" used
by rebel suicide bombers.

The equipment was found after fighting at the village of Ampalavanpokkanai on Thursday.

About 50,000 soldiers are pressing the Tamil Tigers into a patch of north-eastern jungle
after taking the key areas of Kilinochchi, Elephant Pass and Mullaitivu.

The Tigers have been fighting for a separate homeland in the north and east for a quarter
of a century.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Imagine if the war is over, how many UN types will out of a job! better for everyone if the army wins completely and then works to help the local people.

 

[geo]

Imagine that !

 

[Yrys]

S Lanka rebels 'ready for truce', Monday, 23 February 2009

The Tigers are refusing to lay down
their weapons

Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka have told the United Nations they are ready to comply
with international calls for a ceasefire with government forces. But the rebels said they
would not lay down their weapons, as the government has demanded. The Sri Lankan
military said again that this must happen before the rebels could take part in negotiations.

The Tigers have been driven from most of the territory they held by an army offensive
in the past few weeks.


Many in the international community - including India and the leading international donor
group headed by the US, EU, Japan and Norway - have urged the rebels to lay down their
arms. EU foreign ministers renewed their call for a ceasefire on Monday, saying they were
"deeply concerned about the evolving humanitarian crisis".

'Painful'

The offer of a truce was made by B Nadesan, the political head of the rebels, in a letter to
the United Nations and the international community. "Already more than 2,000 civilians have
been killed and more than 5,000 have been injured," Mr Nadesan wrote. "It is painful to see
the world maintaining silence on this immense human suffering as if it is amused by what is
going on."

Mr Nadesan said a ceasefire was needed to end the miseries of the Tamil people. "The LTTE
[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam] desires that this effort for a ceasefire... grows further into
peace talks to seek a political solution to the ethnic conflict," he said. But he said that the
Tigers would not consider disarming until "a permanent political solution is reached for the Tamil
people, with the support and the guarantee of the international community".

Sri Lankan military spokesman, Brig Udaya Nanayakkara, told the BBC the government would
not accept a conditional truce from the rebels.

Earlier this month the US, EU, Japan and Norway said the rebels should disarm and discuss ending
hostilities in order to avoid more civilian casualties.

Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona was quoted by Associated Press as saying on Monday:
"Instead of surrendering as the entire international community and the Sri Lankan government
has called them to do, [the rebels] are calling the very people who have asked them to surrender,
to save their miserable skins."

India has also called on the rebels to lay down their arms and says it will assist in a civilian
evacuation if asked.

In recent weeks, a major Sri Lankan army offensive has inflicted a series of defeats on the
Tamil Tiger forces, pushing the rebels into a narrow area of jungle in the north of Sri Lanka.

About 70,000 people have died in the past 25 years as the Tigers have fought for a separate
homeland in the north and east of the country.

 

[Yrys]

Sri Lanka in new truce rejection, Monday, 2 March 2009

The Sri Lankan government has rejected fresh calls for a temporary ceasefire
with Tamil Tiger rebels. Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told the BBC
that if the rebels laid down their arms there would be no need for a halt in the
fighting. He said a pause would only give the rebels time to regroup and
consolidate in the north-east.

Reports of growing civilian casualties have prompted the UN, European Union
and India to urge a ceasefire. The Tigers have been driven from most of the
territory they held by an army offensive in the past few weeks.

Resettlement

"The pause is not going to give any benefit because it would only prolong the type
of LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) strengthening," Mr Bogollagama told the
BBC. He said that the government would continue to take a line that met "humanitarian
interests" and the concerns of those calling for a truce.

Mr Bogollagama defended the restrictions placed on civilians in the camps that have
been set up for those who have escaped the fighting.

In a briefing to the UN Security Council a few days ago, its humanitarian chief, Sir John
Holmes, said the restrictions on the movement of civilians into and out of the camps
were unacceptable.

But Mr Bogollagama said the restrictions had been put in place mainly for the safety of
the civilians and promised that people would be resettled in their original homes in the
due course of time.

India has been among those calling for a pause in hostilities to protect civilians.
Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in a statement: "Sri Lanka should
seize the reported ceasefire offer by the Tamil Tigers to bring a halt in hostilities."

Last week, the Tigers told the United Nations they were ready to comply with international
calls for a ceasefire. But they said they would not lay down their weapons, as the government
has demanded.

In recent weeks, a major Sri Lankan army offensive has inflicted a series of defeats on the
Tamil Tiger forces, pushing the rebels into a narrow area of jungle in the north of Sri Lanka.

About 70,000 people have died in the past 25 years as the Tigers have fought for a separate
homeland in the north and east of the country.

 

[CougarKing]

The Tamil Tigers had midget submarines?!!!!  So this is yet more evidence that the LTTE is fighting a more of a conventional campaign against the Sri Lanka government than as an insurgency, aside from the fact that the LTTE have their own air element as well.

Sri Lankan Defence Ministry on January 29, shows troops inspecting a submarine-type craft

Fri Jan 30, 3:28 AM ET
This undated photograph released by the Sri Lankan Defence Ministry on January 29, shows troops inspecting a submarine-type craft developed by the Tamil Tiger rebels in the northeastern village of Udayarkattu. Sri Lanka troops said Thursday they found a submarine-type craft and three other boats that could have been used in suicide attacks during searches in the district of Mullaittivu.

(AFP/HO/Ho)

Source: http://www.defpro.com/news/details/5242/

11:40 GMT, February 2, 2009 defpro.com - Mullaittivu | Sri Lanka Army Task Force 3 found an LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam commonly also known as the Tamil Tigers) underwater vehicle along with 3 other smaller underwater vehicles which are still under construction from the Udayarkattukulam area in Mullaittivu on January 28. Military sources said that this was the most startling recovery made by troops so far during the ongoing counter terrorist operations against the LTTE. Three suicide boats and a large haul of LTTE maritime equipment were also found at the location, the sources added.

The sources further revealed, the largest underwater vehicle found is about 35 feet in length and amour plated. Among the other items found , there were one low bed trailer, one armour plate used for bending machines, fifteen oxy-acetylene welding cylinders, thirty armour plate sheets of 20 ft each, three pedal-type suicide boats, one Dvora-type fast attack craft, a large number of water pumps, two lorries, two buses, one truck, one heavy duty generator, one water bowzer trailer, one bowzer, filled with kerosene, two large lathe machines, two powerful compressors, one welding plant, a number of electric motors, one large lifting jack, many boats and vehicle engines, three hangar-shaped buildings of 75 ft x 15 ft each, fifteen small tiled-houses of 20 ft x 30 ft with full air conditioning and five tiled-billets of 25 ft x 100 ft with full air conditioning.

With this discovery the LTTE will go down in the history as the first terrorist organization to develop underwater weapons. Also, the LTTE is the first terrorist outfit to introduce suicide bombers to the world and to develop naval and air arms.

link; http://www.defence.lk/pic...?tfile=Boats&cat=ACHI

LTTE underwater vehicles found - Mullaittivu

Click the image to play slide show

link to the pictures of the Sri Lanka Government.

http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090129_05

http://www.defence.lk/pic...y/picc....ts&cat=ACHI

 

[Yrys]

S Lanka medical base 'captured', Thursday, 12 March 2009

The army says the rebels are being
pushed into a diminishing area

Sri Lankan troops have captured the last remaining medical facility held by Tamil Tiger rebels
in the north, the army's military spokesman has said. Brig Udaya Nanayakkara said that the
Tiger's makeshift hospital near Puthukkudiyiruppu was captured during heavy fighting on
Wednesday.

The army says it has now confined the rebels to a 37 sq km (15 sq mile) area in the north-east.
There has been no word from the Tigers over the loss of the medical facility.

But the pro-rebel TamilNet website has accused the army of killing 133 civilians - including 49
children - during shelling inside a government declared "safe zone" on Tuesday.

"The Sri Lankan army deployed internationally banned cluster munitions and fire-bombs against
civilians who were stranded without shelter inside the 'safe zone' which has now become a killing
field," TamilNet reported.

There is no way of confirming either side's claims. Independent journalists are not allowed in the
war zone. Meanwhile, the rebels have strongly denied United Nations accusations that their fighters
misappropriated food sent for malnourished children.

Concern is mounting over the plight of
civilians

The allegations came after the Sri Lankan defence ministry said it had found a high energy food
supplement on a dead rebel fighter in the north. TamilNet quoted a senior rebel leader saying
the UN statement would only help to discredit the Tamil Tigers.

'Complete control'

The army says that nearly all of the Tamil Tigers' top guerrillas, including leader Vellupillai
Prabhakaran, are now fighting a desperate rearguard action in the diminishing area of land which
they control. It says that some of these leaders are now personally commanding the battles.
"We took complete control [of the medical facility] this morning," Brig Nanayakkara told The
Associated Press. "The hospital building was intact, but we are not sure about any of the
equipment."

He said that while there was heavy fighting during the operation, there was no word yet on
casualties on either side.

The taking of the facility comes a day after the military said a senior rebel leader, Sabarathnam
Selvathurai, was killed in fighting in Puthukkudiyiruppu, believed to be the last major town held
by the rebels. The army says he was killed by mortar fire.

Correspondents say that Mr Selvathurai is one of the oldest confidantes of Mr Prabhakaran, and
was in charge of the rebels' vast international financing network. His death, if confirmed, is likely
to lower their morale.

The army says that some troops are inside Puthukkudiyiruppu and have just a few kilometres to go
before they reach a lagoon on its eastern edge. Meanwhile concern is mounting over the plight of
thousands of civilians inside and outside the war zone who are reported to be affected by heavy
flooding and a shortage of food and medicine.

The government withdrew from a Norwegian-brokered truce at the beginning of 2008 after accusing
the Tigers of using the ceasefire to re-arm. It says the same thing will happen again if it responds
to international calls to stop the latest fighting.

On Tuesday a suicide bombing in the south of the country killed at least 14 people. The attack was
blamed on the rebels.

The Tamil Tigers have fought for an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's Tamil minority since 1983.
More than 70,000 people have been killed in the war.

 

[Yrys]

UN fears Sri Lanka 'war crimes', Friday, 13 March 2009

Actions by Sri Lanka's government and the Tamil Tiger rebels may amount to war crimes,
the United Nations says. UN High Commissioner of Human Rights Navi Pillay called on the
two warring sides to suspend hostilities immediately in the island's north-east.

Describing the level of civilian deaths as "truly shocking", she warned it could reach
"catastrophic" levels.

The UN believes 10,000 civilians have
been killed or injured in two months

The government said it was "very disappointed" at the UN commissioner's "unprofessional
statement". There was no immediate reaction from the rebels.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Sri Lanka's President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, by
telephone that Washington was deeply concerned about deteriorating conditions and
increasing loss of life in government-designated safe areas.

The army has pressed the rebels into a shrinking area amid heavy fighting, saying it is
engaged in a final offensive to capture the last Tamil Tiger strongholds.

'Thousands dead or injured'

This is the UN's strongest message on the conflict so far, BBC Sri Lanka correspondent
Anbarasan Ethirajan reports. "Certain actions being undertaken by the Sri Lankan military
and by the LTTE [Tigers] may constitute violations of international human rights and
humanitarian law," said Ms Pillay.

She accused government forces of repeatedly shelling safe zones set up to protect civilians.
Tamil Tigers, she said, had reportedly held civilians as human shields and fired on those who
tried to flee. "The brutal and inhuman treatment of civilians by the LTTE is utterly reprehensible
and should be examined to see if it constitutes war crimes," she continued.

According to what the UN called credible sources, more than 2,800 civilians may have been
killed and 7,000 others wounded in the fighting over the last two months. Hundreds of children
are believed to have died, Ms Pillay said, and more than a thousand have been injured.

The Sri Lankan minister for human rights, Mahinda Samarasinghe, said the government was
surprised at the UN using what he called unsubstantiated figures about civilian casualties.
"We have very clearly stated that we have not at any time fired at the no-fire zone," he added.
"We are very disappointed and we are very surprised that this kind of unprofessional statement
has been issued."

While there was no immediate response top the UN report from the Tigers, pro-rebel news
website TamilNet accused government forces of killing 30 civilians and wounding 60 inside safe
zones on Thursday alone. The assertions could not be verified independently.

Separatist war

The Tigers, who are proscribed as a terrorist group in many countries, started fighting in the 1970s
for a separate state for Tamils in Sri Lanka's north and east. They argued that the Tamils had been
discriminated against by successive majority Sinhalese governments.

After army advances in the east in 2007 and progress in the north in 2008, most of Sri Lanka is now
under government control. But despite the army's commanding position, the rebels have shown on
innumerable occasions their capacity to fight a guerrilla war through the use of suicide bombings,
assassinations and even aerial attacks carried out by planes operating from secret jungle bases.

The conflict has killed an estimated 70,000 people, displaced thousands more and held back the
island's growth and economic development.

Both the military and the Tigers have been regularly accused of gross abuses of human rights by
organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

U.N. Rights Official Fears War Crimes in Sri Lanka, NY Times, March 13, 2009

 

[Yrys]

Sri Lanka troops 'kill 18 rebels', BBC News, Saturday, 14 March 2009

The defence ministry released images
of slain rebels and their weapons

At least 18 Tamil Tiger rebels have been killed as Sri Lankan troops fought to take remaining
guerrilla strongholds in the north-east, officials said. The defence ministry said troops also
rescued nearly 60 civilians trying to flee the fighting in Mullaitivu.

There is no confirmation by the rebels. The clashes came as international concern mounts
over civilian deaths in government-designated safe zones. The UN says both the army and
the rebels may have committed war crimes.


'War crimes'

Sri Lanka on Saturday rejected the UN allegations and vowed there would be no cease-fire
in its drive to capture the shrinking rebel enclave and end the 25-year-old civil war. A
report on Friday from UN human rights chief Navi Pillay also warned that civilian casualties
could reach "catastrophic" proportions if the two sides do not suspend fighting.

But Sri Lanka's Human Rights Minister, Mahinda Samarasinghe, questioned charges in the
report that 2,800 civilians had been killed and more than 7,000 wounded since 20 January.
"It is very, very unprofessional to rely on such unsubstantiated figures. What is dismaying
to us is the figures correspond to the figures put forward by (the pro-rebel Web site)
Tamilnet and LTTE front groups," Mr Samarsinghe told a news conference, referring to
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

The UN report also said the army has repeatedly shelled inside the "no-fire" zones - an
allegation Mr Samarsinghe denied.

US pressure

Also on Friday, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called President Mahinda
Rajapaksa to express "deep US concern" over deteriorating conditions and increasing loss
of life in the safe zones, a state department statement said. She also condemned the rebels
for using civilians as shields against government attacks and shooting civilians who try to
leave.

Rebel officials could not be reached for comment. Most communication to the north has been
severed, and accounts of the fighting could not be verified because independent journalists
are barred from the war zone.

The LTTE has fought since 1983 for an independent state for the Tamil minority, which suffered
decades of marginalisation at the hands of governments dominated by the Sinhalese majority.
More than 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting.

 

[Yrys]

Vital Tamil clinic 'could close', BBC News, Saturday, 14 March 2009

Sri Lanka's army is trying to take over
rebel strongholds in the area

The last major medical facility in Tamil-held territory has almost stopped functioning
due to a medicine shortage, a Sri Lankan health official says.

Dr T Varatharaja says the closure of the hospital would put the lives of thousands of
sick and injured people in the conflict zone at extreme risk. His warning comes amid
increasing international concern for civilians caught in fighting in the north-east.

Sri Lanka's army is trying to take over rebel strongholds in the area. It is estimated
that between 70,000 and 200,000 civilians are caught up in the conflict zone.

Dr T Varatharaja said there was a severe shortage of essential medicine, which was
forcing the hospital to shut down most of its operations.

However, a senior Sri Lankan government official said some of the medicine requested
by the hospital had already been sent to the nearest major town and would be delivered
once the defence ministry authorised the move.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has been warning of an impending
humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the conflict zone in north-eastern Sri Lanka and
has called for a mass evacuation of civilians.

The government maintains that it has continued to send food and medicine to the people
inside the rebel-controlled territory and rejects allegations of a possible catastrophe.

 

[Yrys]

Sri Lanka fury at 'aid coalition'

The Sri Lankan government has attacked what it calls a "vicious coalition" of aid and humanitarian
agencies for their actions over the country's civil war. The defence ministry said those "pretending
to be humanitarian and aid agencies" were prolonging the conflict "to secure their income".

Rights and aid groups have continued to criticise both the government and Tamil Tiger rebels over
civilian casualties. A new Human Rights Watch report again condemns "indiscriminate shelling".

'Hardcore cadre'

The defence ministry website said the "vicious coalition" that had "been pretending to be
humanitarian agencies, aid agencies, free media, civil rights movements, etc, have made
the continued bloodshed on Sri Lankan soil a lucrative business for them". It said the goal
was "to ensure that the [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's] war would never end at any cost".

The ministry accused the Care International group of being part of the "abominable conspiracy".

Care last week reported that a local worker was killed by shellfire in a government-designated
"no-fire" zone.

The ministry said "very reliable sources" indicated the man was "a hardcore LTTE cadre".

Care country director Nick Osborne told Associated Press news agency the issue was "very
sensitive". "Our response at this moment is to respect the loss of a staff member and give
our thoughts to his family," Mr Osborne said.

The ministry's attack came as Human Rights Watch said there were reports "of civilians
being killed and wounded daily in the no-fire zone, while the Sri Lankan government continues
to deny the attacks". Brad Adams, the group's Asia director, also said: "The Tamil Tigers' use
of civilians as human shields adds to the bloodshed."

The UN's human rights chief Navanethem Pillay - currently in Delhi - has appealed to the Sri
Lankan government to allow independent human rights monitors to assess the situation in the
north and provide better protection for civilians. "So far I have not got any response [from the
government], she said, "but I am going to carry on pressing for it."

The influential chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry has also now
written to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, saying he had "grave concerns" at reports of army
shellfire in civilian areas.

The pro-rebel website TamilNet has consistently accused the army of shelling civilians.
It said another 96 civilians were killed in the designated safety zone on Monday.

No independent journalists can travel to the war zone so information provided by either side
cannot be verified.

The recent Sri Lankan military offensive has restricted the rebels to a small section of jungle
in the north-east.

 

[Yrys]

Sri Lanka civilians tell of war ordeal, BBC News, Monday, 6 April 2009

Civilians on a Red Cross-supervised ship are disembarked for treatment

Civilians fleeing the area in north-east Sri Lanka where Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces
are in fierce conflict have been telling the BBC of the ordeal of life under almost constant gunfire.
Added to the intense shelling there is an acute shortage of water, food and medicine.

The civilians also confirmed the long-levelled accusations by human rights groups that the Tigers
are forcefully recruiting young children and are stopping people from moving out to
government-controlled areas. Some of the injured civilians from Wanni have been brought to
Pulmoddai hospital in Trincomalee district on a ship under the supervision of the Red Cross.

After receiving initial treatment in a medical facility manned by a medical team from India,
patients are sent to various hospitals in the north for further treatment.

Child recruitment

The BBC Tamil service secured rare access to some of the civilians who had arrived at Pulmoddai
hospital, accompanying injured relatives. Sridharan is one of more than 800 civilians who have
arrived in the past few days on the ship. He is hoping to get medical treatment for his three-year-old
son Vidushan. "My wife was killed last Friday in a shell attack. My son was injured. He has an injury
in his back. Living conditions are getting very bad there. We had nothing to eat for the last five days.
Prices are going up every day," he said. A doctor at Pulmoddai hospital said some patients had lost
limbs and most had shellfire injuries.

The area designated by the Sri Lankan government as a "safe zone" is about 20 sq km of coastal
land in Mullaitivu district. The government on Sunday said the Tigers no longer controlled any area
beyond this. Estimates of the number of civilians trapped in the area vary from 50,000 to 200,000.
The Sri Lankan government and other international organisations have repeatedly urged the rebels
to free civilians in the conflict zone. The Tamil Tigers say the people are choosing to stay.

Independent journalists are not allowed to go to the war zone.

The Tigers have continuously denied accusations of recruiting children. But the recent batch of
patients who reached Pulmoddai say rebels are showing no mercy and are taking away as many
people as possible from families.

One civilian, Kauruppaiah Ganapathipillai, said: "The Tigers are increasing the recruitment of children.
Now one cannot even send the children out to fetch water. "They are even taking 14-year-old kids.
In some cases which I know they have taken four to five people from the same family. There is
continuous shelling. Scores are dying every day." Sources from a local hospital say hundreds of
civilians die every week due to shell attacks.

The Tigers have accused the army of regular and indiscriminate shelling of civilians but the military
denies this.

The UN and aid agencies have accused the government of not taking enough measures to protect
civilians caught in the conflict zone.

Head injury

Moving to government-controlled areas is not an easy option for trapped civilians.

One woman who fled, Pakkiyavathi, said: "People take great risks to escape. They have to walk
for days braving shelling. If [Tamil Tiger] cadres spot them they will fire at them. "A few days ago
more than 200 people tried to cross over to the government-controlled areas on their own. [Tamil
Tiger] cadres fired at them, one was killed." The civilians also say that most of the houses and shops
have been destroyed and it seems that there are only a few wells to meet drinking water needs.

One civilian, Shanmugaraja, says his wife was hit by a shell five days ago and sustained a serious
head injury. He says by coming to Pulmoddai hospital her chances of survival have improved.

"A piece of pellet is still inside her head. It is very difficult to live there. We had nothing to eat. In
the [Tamil Tiger] controlled area there is no electricity and a big shortage of water. You have to wait
in long queues to get water. People think [the Tigers] are losing but many don't feel sad about this,"
he said.

There remains no guarantee that life will change for the better once the civilians cross to government-
controlled areas. One mother, paralysed from the waist down, told her story to an NGO supported
by Christian Aid after she reached a government camp. "My husband was pushing me on a bicycle,
searching for safe areas. In the worst of the fighting we lost the bicycle - I was in a bad situation.
Ultimately we all had to scatter and the family was separated.

"Somehow we were able to get out of the war zone and reach a safer place. We were then locked
up in a fenced area, isolated from the people outside. But we were alive." She added: "We are
prevented from freely meeting with visitors. Even if we can make contact with family outside,
all we can do is talk to them through the wire fence. "The people are suffering under these rigid
restrictions. Wives, husbands, children, friends are kept apart and cannot share their painful
feelings or support each other."

The Sri Lankan government has promised to improve the conditions in the camps. Due to the
intense fighting over the past few months a number of families have been displaced many times,
some more than a dozen. Most of them have lost everything they had.

One elderly lady, Kanagasabapathi Rasamma, broke down while narrating her journey. "We have
come from Pudumathalan hospital. There is fighting everywhere, bombing and deaths… Oh God
how much we have suffered… What we did to endure this… Nobody is there to save us. No-one
is helping us," she said.

 

[Yrys]

S Lanka denies safe-zone shelling, BBC News, Friday, 10 April 2009

Sri Lanka's army says it has restricted
the rebels to the safe zone

The Sri Lankan government has again strongly denied government forces have been shelling
a designated "safe zone" for civilians in the north-east. Sri Lanka's health minister told the
BBC Tamil Tiger rebels were responsible for spreading false propaganda.

Rebel sources say civilian deaths have occurred due to army shelling of the safe zone set up
to protect tens of thousands of civilians.

The military says the rebels are now confined to the safe zone. The Sri Lankan military says
it has captured all rebel-held territory outside the zone after days of intense fighting. The
zone is a small stretch of about 20 sq km of coastal land in Mullaitivu district.

'Hostages'

Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva's robust defence comes a day after a senior health
official in Mullaitivu district said some 60 civilians had died in army shelling of the zone. The
version given by the health official inside the safe zone cannot be independently verified as
journalists are not allowed to enter it.

The government says doctors in the safe zone have been under pressure from the rebels
to exaggerate civilian casualties. "These health officials are being held hostage by the
[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)]," the health minister said. "They will not be able
to survive there... their families would have been killed by the LTTE if they don't make
statements in favour of the LTTE." There has been no reaction from the Tamil Tigers so far.

The minister also accused the international community of being misled by the rebels. It was
"high time", he said, that the United Nations and other international agencies believed what
the government was saying. Meanwhile, the New York-based human rights group, Human
Rights Watch, said Sri Lanka's "so-called no-fire-zone is now one of the most dangerous
places in the world".

"The Sri Lankan government should stop firing heavy artillery into the 'no-fire zone' in the
northern Vanni area, where some 100,000 civilians are trapped," by the Tamil Tigers, causing
"skyrocketing casualties," it said in a statement. The government denies any such shelling.

"The military is not attacking this particular zone with artillery or with any other weapons.
It is very clear that the government and the military do not want any civilian casualties,"
Mr De Silva said. "Because we have almost won the war against terrorism in Sri Lanka, we
don't want that to be spoiled at the last moment."

On Thursday night, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon telephoned Sri Lankan President
Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss the issue of civilian casualties. A statement from Mr Rajapaksa's
office said the president had told Mr Ban "the suffering of the civilians was due to the LTTE
continuing to hold them hostage and as human shields, ignoring the many calls by the UN
and humanitarian organisations to free them".

The United Nations says more than 2,800 civilians may have been killed and 7,000 injured in
fighting in the past two months. The government disputes these figures.

The UN has also accused the rebels of preventing civilians from leaving the war zone, saying
there were credible reports that Tamil Tigers were shooting at those attempting to flee. The
rebels deny the accusations.

 

[Yrys]

Sri Lanka Orders Halt to Fighting Circled Rebels, NY Times, April 12, 2009

NEW DELHI — Having rebuffed international appeals to protect civilians trapped in a war zone
in its northeast, the Sri Lankan government on Sunday ordered a two-day “pause” in fighting.

An estimated 100,000 ethnic Tamils are trapped in a deadly and shrinking five-square-mile
wedge of land in northeastern Sri Lanka, where the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam,
or Tamil Tigers, fighting for an ethnic homeland for 25 years, have effectively held them hostage
as a civilian shield. Human Rights Watch estimates that 3,000 people have been killed since January
alone, making the area what the group calls “one of the most dangerous places in the world.”

The Sri Lankan government, in what it says is its final push to defeat the rebels, also known
as the L.T.T.E., has been under pressure to stop shelling areas where it knows civilians are trapped.
On Sunday, a statement from President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s office announced a 48-hour halt to
gunfire to allow civilians to leave the region. It coincides with the ethnic Tamil and Sinhala New Year.

“It is timely for the L.T.T.E. to acknowledge its military defeat and lay down its weapons and
surrender,” the president said in a statement posted on the government Web site.

The United Nations and the United States have repeatedly called on Sri Lanka not to shell the area.
The Security Council has been briefed about the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka, but it stopped
short of taking up a formal discussion on the conflict. China, one of Sri Lanka’s central backers,
is not eager for United Nations involvement.

Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, described the government cease-fire as a
“useful first step” but said he hoped for a longer halt in fighting. He called on the rebels to let
civilians leave the war zone and on the government to treat the displaced in accordance with
international law. The United Nations wants the government to let camps of displaced people
be run by civilians, not military officials, and to allow humanitarian agencies free access to
the displaced.

The Tamil Tigers have insisted on a cease-fire, and their supporters in the vocal Tamil diaspora
have protested in cities around the world in recent days, storming the Sri Lankan Embassy in
Oslo on Sunday. The Tamil Tigers and their supporters have maintained that Tamils are remaining
behind the front line voluntarily, although pictures and testimonies emerging from the war zone
suggest otherwise. The Sri Lankan government does not allow journalists to go anywhere near
the conflict zone. The rebels did not respond Sunday to the government’s unilateral offer of a
temporary stop to the fighting.

 

[Yrys]

Holiday truce begins in Sri Lanka, BBC News, Monday, 13 April 2009

Sri Lanka's armed forces are on orders to suspend attacks on Tamil rebels for 48 hours as
the country's communities celebrate New Year. The truce which came into effect at midnight
(1830 GMT Sunday) is meant to allow civilians to leave the conflict zone in the north-east safely.

Troops fighting the Tamil Tigers, whose response to the truce is not known, were told only
to fire if attacked. The UN welcomed the pause as a chance to help civilians and deliver aid.

Sri Lanka's authorities have been under growing international pressure to allow time for tens
of thousands of trapped civilians to leave the war zone safely, the BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan
reports from the capital, Colombo. The military says it has captured the entire Tamil Tiger-held
territory in the north and pushed the rebels into a government-designated safe zone for civilians.

Thousands of people, mostly Tamils, have been protesting in Western capitals to demand a
ceasefire. Demonstrators occupied the Sri Lankan embassy in Oslo for about five minutes on
Sunday, Norwegian police said. The government later apologised for failing to stop the crowd,
put at about 100.

'A good first step'

President Mahinda Rajapakse called the truce after a cabinet meeting. Foreign Minister Rohitha
Bogollagama told the BBC that government forces would not engage in any offensive operations
during the two-day Sinhala and Tamil New Year period. He said the decision was taken to allow
time for civilians to leave the war zone safely.

The defence ministry says security forces have surrounded the no-fire zone on all three sides
and troops are now poised to enter the area to rescue the civilians.

UN humanitarian envoy John Holmes told the BBC he hoped the truce would mean more aid being
allowed into the conflict zone. He hoped the Tigers would allow "people a free choice about whether
they leave the area or not, which is crucial because the civilians are suffering so much in that zone".

"We would have liked a longer pause than this, a genuine humanitarian pause of a longer period than
two days but this is a good first step," he added.

 

[old medic]

Sri Lanka's army helps thousands flee battle zone
By Krishan Francis, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2009/04/20/9173866-ap.html

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - The army breached one of the last Tamil Tiger rebel fortifications Monday and freed thousands of trapped civilians, some fleeing through the neck-high water of a lagoon while bleeding or carrying wounded relatives.

The government warned the rebels they had 24 hours to surrender or face a final assault to end a crumbling 25-year insurgency that sought to create a separate homeland for ethnic Tamils on this South Asian island.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa went on Sri Lanka's national television to say that soldiers helped more than 35,000 civilians leave the battle zone in what he called the "largest-ever hostage rescue mission in history."

The Red Cross said its workers had tended to 4,000 people who crossed the front lines Monday. Spokeswoman Sarasi Wijeratne said the organization was not in a position to "confirm or deny" the large number being quoted.

A pro-rebel website, meanwhile, said hundreds of civilians might have been killed in the "total chaos" that prevailed when soldiers entered the zone.

It was not possible to verify any of the reports because journalists are restricted in the war zone.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the civilians' escape but remained deeply concerned about thousands still trapped and "the potential for large-scale casualties," UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe said in New York.

Ban also said aid workers must be allowed into the area to help civilians.

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon released a statement saying Ottawa is watching the situation closely, and calling for a "resumption of the humanitarian pause."

"Both sides must allow the safe and voluntary movement of civilians from combat zones and ensure full, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian workers to those in need," Cannon's statement said.

He said he had spoken Sunday with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as Ban and Canada's high commissioner in Sri Lanka, on issues such as access to water, sanitation and medical support.

"The conflict cannot be resolved militarily; it can only be settled through a durable political solution that meets the legitimate aspirations of all the people of Sri Lanka," Cannon said.

The UN had estimated 100,000 civilians were trapped in the zone where the rebels have been pinned down, an area that measures less than 20 square kilometres.

UN officials say 4,500 noncombatants have been killed over last three months amid fierce fighting during a government offensive that has driven the rebels from their strongholds.

The military spokesman, Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara, said soldiers broke through part of a 12-kilometre-long earthen barrier erected by the Tamil Tigers to seal off the small area that had been designated a "no-fire zone" and where the rebels have dug in for a final stand.

That allowed civilians to stream out toward government lines.

Video on state television Rupavahini showed dozens of men and women wading across a lagoon in neck-high water. Some people were wounded and dripping blood. Others carried children or wounded relatives on their shoulders.

A girl wept over the body of a relative who state television said was killed in a rebel suicide bombing aimed at preventing civilians from leaving.

Few possessions were carried out. Some people wore backpacks while others held sacks on their shoulders or bulkier bags on their heads.

"We couldn't move from there. In all directions the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) cadres were surrounding and searching everywhere. If they found someone planning to escape they will immediately shoot them down," a man named Murugan told state television.

The air force showed reporters video taken by a surveillance plane in which dozens of civilians ran toward the army's front line, most of them carrying bags on their heads.

Footage shot by Associated Press Television News showed men, women and children resting on a beach at Puttumattalan after fleeing the war zone.

The military said the vast majority of those who fled Monday - more than 25,000 - headed to an army-controlled area where they were being screened. The military spokesman said 2,165 people also escaped in 103 boats and were picked up by the navy at sea.

The exodus came just days after the military announced a unilateral, two-day ceasefire to encourage civilians to flee. Only a few hundred left initially, prompting the government to again accuse the rebels of using civilians as human shields, a charge also made by aid groups.

Tamil rebels have previously denied forcing civilians to stay, but it was not possible to contact the rebels for comment Monday.

The UN and others have called for a negotiated truce to allow civilians to leave. But the government has rejected such calls, saying it is on the verge of crushing the rebels after an insurgency that caused some 70,000 deaths since it began in 1983, fed by Tamil anger over decades of marginalization by the island's ethnic Sinhalese majority.

The government said Monday that rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and his fighters had 24 hours to surrender before a final assault, one of many such recent claims that troops would soon end the conflict.

Defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said the government's preferred option was to catch Prabhakaran alive and the president's ultimatum was a final opportunity for the leader to end the conflict.

The rebels have refused previous calls for their surrender.

Rambukwella said the rebel leader's capture or death was "inevitable" because he would soon lose his civilian cover. "He doesn't have that option now," the spokesman said.

Military analyst Susantha Seneviratne, a retired colonel said the call for surrender was a way to probe the morale of rank-and-file rebels.

The army has "pressured them and it has been constant, and this is a method to test how they react," he said.

"As far as the LTTE (leadership) is concerned, they will not surrender," he predicted.

 

[CougarKing]

Another update: the surviving top LTTE leaders have surrendered!

Agence France-Presse - 4/22/2009 1:27 PM GMT
Top Tamil rebels surrender to Sri Lankan troops
Two key Tamil Tiger officials surrendered Wednesday as Sri Lankan troops pressed a final offensive against the rebels despite a global outcry over the fate of civilians trapped in the war zone.

Among the senior rebels who turned themselves in was the Tigers' main mouthpiece to the outside world, chief spokesman Velayudam Dayanidi, who is better known as Daya Master.

Another official, who once served as an aide to the late head of the Tigers' political wing, S.P. Thamilselvan, also surrendered.

The defence ministry spokesman said more than 100,000 people had fled the shrinking patch of territory still controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), adding troops were "rescuing" civilians caught up in the war.

"Our operations to rescue civilians are continuing," Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters, describing the Tigers as a spent force with just 12 square kilometres (five square miles) of land left.

"The LTTE has lost all its military capabilities. They are fighting a losing battle," he said, adding the government also "strongly believes" that Tamil Tiger leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran, 54, was still in the area.

The Tigers, who have been fighting for an independent Tamil homeland since 1972, have acknowledged losing ground, and have accused the government of killing 1,000 civilians in recent days.

The military insists it has aided the escape of tens of thousands of men, women and children this week -- and has found 3,000 suspected LTTE members among the refugees.

It says some fleeing non-combatants were fired on by the rebels, who are alleged to have kept villagers as human shields.

The rival claims are hard to verify as independent reporters are not allowed near the conflict zone, but aid agencies have painted a grim picture.

"The situation is nothing short of catastrophic," said Pierre Kraehenbuehl, operations director for the International Committee of the Red Cross .

"What we are seeing is intense fighting in a very small area overcrowded with civilians who have fled there."

He estimated there could be thousands more people still inside rebel-held territory, while facilities for those who had reached relative safety were overstretched.

The United States and other nations have urged both Sri Lankan troops and Tiger rebels not to fire indiscriminately, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has asked that UN staff be allowed to enter the area for relief operations.

"The casualties are certainly in the thousands and have been fairly consistently high running throughout the last couple of months, as the patch of (LTTE) territory has narrowed," said Gordon Weiss, the UN spokesman in Colombo.

An aid worker from Doctors without Borders (MSF) reported that a hospital in the government-controlled area had received more than 400 new patients in the past two days, many with shrapnel and landmine injuries.

"The buses are still coming and they're actually unloading dead bodies at times as some wounded people died on the way," said Karen Stewart, a medical officer working in Vavuniya.

"It's chaotic," she said. "We have people under every bed, so that's double capacity. You also have a lot of people who are outside in the walkways lying on mats."

The apparent endgame in Sri Lanka has triggered protests around the world, with up to 30,000 Tamil demonstrators clogging the Canadian capital Ottawa to demand a ceasefire.

Similar rallies have been held in London and Paris.

The LTTE were once considered one of the world's most efficient guerilla outfits, lording over a third of Sri Lanka's territory and running a de facto mini-state.

A Norwegian-brokered truce between the government and the rebels began falling apart in December 2005, and fighting since then has seen the progressive collapse of the rebel army.

Last month the UN's human rights chief said both sides in the conflict may be guilty of war crimes.
   

 

[Colin Parkinson]

The UN is claiming 6500 civilians killed by both sides over the last 3 months. It seems all the “usual suspects” are in a panic to create a ceasefire in order to “save the civilians” I think they must feel the need to save the LTTE from utter destruction, something I hope they are unsuccessful at. Having the LTTE wiped out creates the lasting conditions for a peace, dispels the myth that a “insurgency can’t be beaten by military means” .
Frankly I want to see the world pressure the Sri Lankan government in ensuring the Tamils are well treated after the conflict and that aid agencies can set up refugee processing camps for the civilians escaping the fighting so they can be treated, fed and returned to their homes.  I also want to see international assistance towards the post conflict rebuilding to help prevent conditions that would encourage the rise of another insurgency and combined with the utter destruction of the LTTE will help guarantee peace in the region for many years. 

 

[CougarKing]

Devastation on Sri Lanka front line

It appears that most of the rebels still haven't surrendered and the Sri Lankan Army has begun their final assault on the LTTE.