Fighting between government troops and Tamil Tigers continued in northern Sri Lanka on Thursday after Colombo announced it was pulling out of a battered ceasefire agreement with the rebels.
At least six Tiger rebels and a government soldier were killed in the latest clashes along the de facto border of the mini-state run by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the defense ministry said.
For their part, the Tigers said they beat back a military offensive into their territory and claimed they killed 10 government soldiers and wounded 15 more. The rebels said in a statement that they did not suffer any losses.
Both sides are known to claim heavy losses for their adversaries and there is no independent verification.
In Colombo, the already tight security was further strengthened one day after suspected LTTE rebels set off a roadside bomb targeting an army bus that killed five and wounded 28.
Two government soldiers were also killed and three wounded in another mine attack in the north-central part of the island on Thursday, police said.
An opposition Tamil lawmaker who was gunned down on New Year's Day at a Hindu temple was cremated in Colombo on Thursday amid heavy security and protests by human rights groups, which hold the government responsible for the slaying.
The government has denied involvement.
On Wednesday night, Sri Lanka announced it was formally pulling out of the Norwegian-brokered 2002 ceasefire agreement, after months of escalating violence and with authorities believing they now have the upper hand in the decades-old conflict.
The government on Thursday said it had given the mandatory two weeks' notice to Norway, which means it will quit the truce from Jan. 16.
It said that the Norwegian-led Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM), which has monitored the truce, would also be dissolved.
Government spokesman and media minister Anura Yapa said the government viewed the 2002 truce agreement as a "flawed document."
"The government does not want to be a party to a non-functioning ceasefire agreement," Yapa told reporters. "But it does not imply that the government has shut the door for negotiations."
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese