Sri Lankan Army

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Race Car Runs Into Crowd in Sri Lanka, Killing 7

20 people were injured at event that drew 45,000 spectators

(Newser) - A race car veered off the track during a competition in Sri Lanka on Sunday and rammed into a crowd of spectators and race officials, killing seven people and injuring 20 others, officials said. Thousands of spectators watched the crash during a race in the town of Diyatalawa in the...

Sri Lanka Nixes Annual Exams Amid Spiraling Financial Crisis

It's a symptom of a serious economic malady in the small island nation

(Newser) - In what may come as a relief to some children, Sri Lanka has cancelled annual exams due to an acute shortage of printing paper. Although paper prices are on the rise worldwide, that’s not the real problem. According to the Guardian, the country faces "a debilitating economic crisis...

Sri Lanka: OK, We'll Count War Dead

Island-wide census follows war crimes accusations

(Newser) - Amid international pressure, Sri Lanka has agreed to try to find out just how many people were killed during its merciless civil war. The government say a team of 16,000 officials "will conduct an island-wide census to assess the human and property damages occurred" in its long struggle...

Group: Sri Lanka Executed Top Rebel's 12-Year-Old Son

Photos are proof of war crime, campaigners say

(Newser) - Sri Lankan government forces executed the 12-year-old son of a rebel leader on the bloody final day of the country's 26-year civil war, campaigners say. The Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka group says two photographs taken less than two hours apart show the son of slain Tamil Tiger...

UN on Sri Lanka: Government Committed War Crimes

Military blamed for death of tens of thousands of civilians in 2009

(Newser) - Civilians were slaughtered by Sri Lankan government forces and Tamil Tigers alike in the bloody final phase of the island nation's civil war, according to a hard-hitting report from a United Nations panel. The report accuses the Sri Lankan military of urging civilians in the separatist north to gather...

After 26-Year War, Sri Lanka Struggles with Peace

Ethnic tensions remain as Tamil rebels lay down arms

(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...

EU Sold Millions in Weapons to Sri Lankan Army

European arms may have been used in civil war atrocities

(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...

Sri Lankan Shelling Killed 20,000 Civilians

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

(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...

Tamil Boss Shot Dead Trying to Flee

After 26 years, Tamil Tigers resoundingly defeated

(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...

Sri Lanka Declares Victory Over Tigers
 Sri Lanka Declares 
 Victory Over Tigers 
updated
May 16, 2009 11:36 AM CDT

Sri Lanka Declares Victory Over Tigers

(Newser) - 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,"...

Sri Lanka Military Cuts Off Rebel Sea Escape

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

(Newser) - 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...

Army: Sri Lanka War in 'Final Stage'

Tens of thousands of civilians trapped; UN envoy arrives

(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...

50 Die in Shelling of Sri Lanka Hospital

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...

UN: Sri Lanka Conflict a 'Bloodbath'

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 Protesters Shut Down Toronto Highway

(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...

378 Civilians Reported Dead in Sri Lanka Artillery Barrage

1,100 injured; rebels, army blame each other

(Newser) - 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...

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