Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels abducted a member of a Tamil group that opposes the guerrillas' violent campaign for a separate homeland for the ethnic minority, the Sri Lankan military said yesterday.
Krishnaswamyy Tirunavukarasu, of the People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam, was abducted on Saturday night from his home in Vavuniya, a Tamil-majority town 210km north of Colombo, according to an official at the military's media unit.
Kidnappers, posing as police, entered his house and took him away, the official said.
Earlier, thousands of police officers and soldiers fanned out across Colombo before dawn on Saturday to root out what they termed to be suspected ethnic separatist rebels, arresting 920 people, most of them ethnic Tamils.
By the end of the day, only 53 remained in custody. Police said five were members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) guerrilla group. The rest, charged with minor crimes, were released on bail.
Saturday's action, following an increase in the number of attacks by the Tamil Tigers against government targets, was reminiscent of similar security operations against the island's Tamil minority before a ceasefire agreement was agrred and signed between the government and rebels in February 2002.
It was also among the first signs of tension to be felt in the capital.
A spate of political assassinations, grenade attacks and bombings have largely been restricted to the Tamil majority north and east of the country, near the areas controlled by the Tamil Tigers.
A spate of killings, attributed alternately to the Tamil Tigers and pro-government militias, have heightened fears of a resumption of war.
The Tamil Tigers have been fighting to break away from ethnic Sinhalese-majority Sri Lanka for more than 20 years.
The house-to-house sweep on Saturday was conducted primarily in the Tamil enclaves of Sri Lanka's capital city by about 2,400 police officers, backed by 2,000 soldiers, sailors and air force personnel.
"The operation was aimed at preventing future LTTE attacks and to ensure the security of Colombo," said Pujith Jayasundere, deputy inspector general of police, referring to the term used locally to describe the Tamil Tigers.
Security forces blocked off roads, while policemen went inside homes and checked the identification of the occupants.
Those thought to be suspicious were taken into custody.
No one was allowed to step in or out of their homes.
As the police cordoned off the streets, witnesses said shoppers heading to stores early to avoid the New Year's Eve rush were stopped.
A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD leader Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while coleader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual split comes at a time when mainstream politicians have accused the anti-immigration AfD of acting as stooges for the Kremlin and even spying for Russia. The row has also erupted in a year in which the AfD is flying high, often polling above the record 20 percent it
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
The latest batch from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s e-mails illustrates the extraordinary scope of his contacts with powerful people, ranging from a top Trump adviser to Britain’s ex-prince Andrew. The US House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on trying to force release of evidence gathered on Epstein by law enforcement over the years — including the identities of the men suspected of participating in his alleged sex trafficking ring. However, a slew of e-mails released this week have already opened new windows to the extent of Epstein’s network. These include multiple references to US President Donald
CHARGES: The former president, who maintains his innocence, was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for a failed coup bid, as well as an assassination plot Far-right former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is running out of options to avoid prison, after judges on Friday rejected his appeal against a 27-year sentence for a botched coup bid. Bolsonaro lost the 2022 elections and was convicted in September for his efforts to prevent Brazlian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking power after the polls. Prosecutors said the scheme — which included plans to assassinate Lula and a top Brazilian Supreme Court judge — failed only due to a lack of support from military top brass. A panel of Supreme Court judges weighing Bolsonaro’s appeal all voted to uphold
RSS