Thousands of civilians were on the run yesterday in Sri Lanka's restive northeast after heavy artillery exchanges left over 85 people dead, according to the Tamil rebels and government forces.
The defense ministry said that 1,450 displaced by the fighting in the district of Trincomalee found temporary accommodation in schools, temples and public building in the neighborhood.
The ministry said that 40 Tamil Tiger rebels were killed and another 40 were wounded when troops retaliated against Tiger artillery attacks on Saturday.
PHOTO: AFP
It said government forces lost two soldiers and that another 37 were wounded.
However, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said 45 people were killed, including at least 15 civilians in areas held by them following the army's shelling.
"In the battle that lasted for several hours, 30 Sri Lanka army soldiers, including two senior officers, were killed. Five bodies of soldiers have been captured by the LTTE," the Tigers said. "Some weapons were also captured."
The Tigers placed their losses at seven cadres wounded.
Both sides blamed each other for the plight of civilians trapped in rebel-held areas as well as territory controlled by the military.
Hundreds of civilians were also unable to leave because of the sporadic artillery attacks on the main roads, a military official in the area said by telephone.
The two sides were exchanging long-range attacks along the district borders of Trincomalee and Batticaloa, local officials said adding that much of the fighting had died down yesterday.
The renewed attacks came after peacebroker Norway failed on Friday to secure an agreement to end a blockade on the Jaffna Peninsula, where nearly half a million people are trapped by fighting.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
‘POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE’: Leo Varadkar said he was ‘no longer the best person’ to lead the nation and was stepping down for political, as well as personal, reasons Leo Varadkar on Wednesday announced that he was stepping down as Ireland’s prime minister and leader of the Fine Gael party in the governing coalition, citing “personal and political” reasons. Pundits called the surprise move, just 10 weeks before Ireland holds European Parliament and local elections, a “political earthquake.” A general election has to be held within a year. Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin, leader of Fianna Fail, the main coalition partner, said Varadkar’s announcement was “unexpected,” but added that he expected the government to run its full term. An emotional Varadkar, who is in his second stint as prime minister and at
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia