Sri Lanka Hospital Attack Kills 49: Doctor

Sri Lanka president earlier declared victory

(NEWSER) - Sri Lanka's rebel Tamil Tigers have declared a ceasefire after a 26-year war in a statement lamenting thousands of deaths in the past 24 hours, the BBC reports. “This battle has reached its bitter end,” said a Tamil Tigers spokesman on the group’s website. The statement later appeared slightly altered, saying the force was “prepared to silence its guns if that is what needed by the international community to save the life and dignity of the Tamil people.” More»

(AP) - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said today that his country had defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels on the battlefield and emerged victorious from its quarter-century civil war. "My government, with the total commitment of our armed forces, has in an unprecedented humanitarian operation finally defeated the LTTE militarily," he said, referring to the rebels by their formal name, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. More»

Doctor says aid workers flee as artillery hits makeshift wards

(NEWSER) - The hospital in Sri Lanka's war zone was shelled again today, killing more than 50 people and making it harder than ever for the remaining doctors to treat the wounded, the AP reports. The government has pledged not to fire on the land occupied by thousands of refugees, but this is the third time the region's only hospital has been hit. More»

Aid groups urge Japan to push for Security Council action

(NEWSER) - After intense weekend fighting, the UN says the battle between rebels and the government in Sri Lanka has become a “bloodbath,” the New York Times reports. A government doctor estimates 1,000 civilians died in the heavy shelling of the small coastal area occupied by a few hundred Tamil Tigers and surrounded by government troops. Some 50,000 civilians are believed to be stuck in the fray with few basic resources. More»

1,100 injured; rebels, army blame each other

(AP) - An all-night artillery barrage in Sri Lanka's war zone killed at least 378 civilians and forced thousands to flee to makeshift shelters, a government doctor said today. The army and Tamil Tiger rebels each blamed the other for the barrage, which the doctor said left at least 1,100 people wounded in the bloodiest day he has seen in months of fighting. More»