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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka stories: 55 news summaries

1 - 20 of 55 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>

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Feds: NY Hedge Fund Boss Funded Terror

Donations were funneled to Tamil Tigers

Oct 19, 09 1:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - A hedge-fund manager busted for insider trading has been contributing money to a Sri Lankan terrorist group, according to FBI agents. Raj Rajaratnam came under scrutiny in a federal probe into the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization, a charity which was charged with funneling money to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam,... More »

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terrorism • tsunami • insider trading • Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • SEC • Raj Rajaratnam

(Newser) - He really should have seen this coming. A popular astrologer in Sri Lanka has been arrested after predicting the ouster of the president, the BBC reports. Police took Chandrasiri Bandara into custody this week after he foresaw a bad moon rising for Mahinda Rajapaksa and told opposition leaders they'd be... More »

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Sri Lanka • arrest • Mahinda Rajapaksa • Astrology • Chandrasiri Bandara

After 26-Year War, Sri Lanka Struggles with Peace

Ethnic tensions remain as Tamil rebels lay down arms

Jun 12, 09 8:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Sri Lankan government finally prevailed in its 26-year civil war with Tamil rebels with a brutal campaign, leaving thousands dead and 300,000 displaced. Now, reports the Wall Street Journal, the country must try living in peace after years of assassinations and abductions from both sides. Tamils "should... More »

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Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • civil war • ethnic conflict • ethnic violence • rebel fighters • Sri Lankan Army • Tamils

EU Sold Millions in Weapons to
Sri Lankan Army

European arms may have been used
in civil war atrocities

Jun 2, 09 5:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - European Union nations sold millions of dollars worth of arms and military equipment to the Sri Lankan army in the final stages of its 26-year civil war, in which the army has been accused of atrocities. The UK sold the country $22.3 million in armored vehicles and weapons, though... More »

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European Union • United Kingdom • civilian casualties • Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • civil war • arms deal • arms sales • Sri Lankan Army • Slovakia

 Sri Lankan Shelling 
 Killed 20,000 Civilians 

Photos, UN documents reveal hidden massacre at civil war's end

May 29, 09 7:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - The final battles of the 26-year civil war in Sri Lanka killed more than 20,000 Tamil civilians, most from government shelling, an investigation by the Times of London concludes. The number of casualties is three times higher than the government admitted. Aerial photographs, eyewitness testimony, and confidential UN documents... More »

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civilian casualties • Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • civil war • civilians • Sri Lankan Army

(Newser) - The defeated Tamil Tigers have admitted that leader Velupillai Prabhakaran is dead, the BBC reports. The rebels declared a week of mourning after their “incomparable leader” was killed while "fighting the military oppression of the Sri Lankan government," a statement said. The Tigers have also renounced violence,... More »

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Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • civil war • refugee • rebel fighters • Velupillai Prabhakaran

 Sri Lanka Prez: 
 We're 'Liberated' 

Body of rebel leader said to be found

May 19, 09 8:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - Sri Lanka’s leader celebrated the country’s “liberation” from the Tamil Tigers after 26 years of war in a speech to parliament today, the BBC reports. “Today we have been able to liberate the entire country from the clutches of terrorism," said Mahinda Rajapaska. "We... More »

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Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • parliament • speech • ethnic conflict • Mahinda Rajapaksa • Tamils • Velupillai Prabhakaran

 Tamil Boss 
 Shot Dead 
 Trying to Flee 

After 26 years, Tamil Tigers resoundingly defeated

May 18, 09 3:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - The leader of the Tamil Tigers was shot dead before dawn this morning as the Sri Lankan army moved into the rebel group's final stronghold, the Guardian reports. Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed while trying to flee the war zone in an ambulance. Four other senior Tigers, including his son, were... More »

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civilian casualties • Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • civil war • Sri Lankan Army • Tamils • Velupillai Prabhakaran

 Tamil Tigers: 'Battle 
 Has Reached Its End' 

Sri Lanka president earlier declared victory

May 17, 09 6:52 AM CDT
(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... More »

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Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • surrender • ceasefire • rebels • Mahinda Rajapaksa • Tamils

updated

 Sri Lanka Declares 
 Victory Over Tigers 


May 16, 09 11:36 AM CDT
(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,"... More »

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Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • civil war • rebels • Mahinda Rajapaksa • victory • Sri Lankan Army • LTTE

 Sri Lanka Military Cuts Off 
 Rebel Sea Escape 

Tigers lose access to sea as military vows to end 25-year war by nightfall

May 16, 09 7:45 AM CDT
(AP) - Sri Lankan forces took control of the island's entire coastline today for the first time in decades, sealing the Tamil Tigers in a tiny pocket of territory and cutting off the possibility of a sea escape by the rebels' top leaders, the AP reports. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has vowed to... More »

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Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • civil war • Mahinda Rajapaksa • Sri Lankan Army

 Army: Sri Lanka War 
 in 'Final Stage' 

Tens of thousands of civilians trapped; UN envoy arrives

May 15, 09 6:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Sri Lankan government claims to be within 48 hours of capturing the last holdout of Tamil Tigers, as the Red Cross warned of "an unimaginable human catastrophe" for the tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the war zone. Only a few hundred rebels remain in a two-mile-square... More »

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United Nations • civilian casualties • Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • IMF • civilians • Mahinda Rajapaksa • Ban Ki-Moon • Sri Lankan Army • Tamils

 50 Die in Shelling 
 of Sri Lanka Hospital 

Doctor says aid workers flee as artillery hits makeshift wards

May 13, 09 9:13 AM CDT
(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... More »

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civilian casualties • Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • hospital • Sri Lankan Army

 Sri Lanka Hospital 
 Attack Kills 49: Doctor 

Shell strikes only working facility in war zone

May 12, 09 6:27 AM CDT
(AP) - A mortar shell struck the only functioning medical facility in Sri Lanka's northern war zone this morning, killing 49 patients and bystanders and wounding more than 50 others, a government health official said. It was the second time this month that the facility has been hit. Shells were still hitting... More »

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Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • hospital • rebels • war zone

 UN: Sri Lanka 
 Conflict a 
 'Bloodbath' 

Aid groups urge Japan to push for Security Council action

May 11, 09 10:46 AM CDT
(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... More »

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United Nations • Japan • Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • Amnesty International • Human Rights Watch • rebels • UN Security Council • Sri Lankan Army • Tamils

(Newser) - Canadian Tamil demonstrators protesting fighting in Sri Lanka shut down a highway in Toronto for several hours, reports CNN. Some estimated the crowd at several thousands. As many as 70,000 people have been killed in Sri Lanka's civil war. Government troops are pressing a final assault on the rebel... More »

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Canada • Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • protests • Toronto • protesters • Sri Lankan Army • Jay-ZTV

378 Civilians Reported Dead in Sri Lanka Artillery Barrage

1,100 injured; rebels, army blame each other

May 10, 09 11:34 AM CDT
(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... More »

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civilian casualties • Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • civil war • injuries • war zone • Sri Lankan Army

Perspective

 Leaving the 
 Tamil Tigers 


May 8, 09 11:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - Caught in an ambush in 1987, Niromi de Soyza almost bit her cyanide capsule. “As a Tamil Tiger guerrilla, there was no honor in being caught alive,” she writes in the Telegraph. Ultimately she escaped, but not before one of her best friends was shot and killed.... More »

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Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • Niromi de Soyza

 Sri Lankan Refugees 
 Describe Deadly Escape 

10 of 21 make it to safety in India; refugees tell their story

May 5, 09 2:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - As fighting raged between the Sri Lankan army and the rebel Tamil Tigers last month, 21 people managed to escape on a boat. But by the time they arrived in India, nine days later, only 10 remained. “One by one. Dead babies, children. No food. No drink,” one... More »

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India • Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • boat • refugee • escape

(AP) - Artillery shells hit a makeshift hospital in Sri Lanka's northern war zone today, killing at least 64 civilians, a government doctor reports, amid growing international pressure to safeguard thousands of civilians trapped in the area. A rebel-linked website accused government forces of shelling the hospital, while the military said soldiers... More »

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United Nations • civilian casualties • Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • civil war

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