Lankapress COLOMBO, April 23: Ferocious fighting erupted in Sri Lanka on Wednesday as government troops made a fresh bid to break into rebel territory, leaving at least 67 dead on both sides, the defence ministry said.

A ministry spokesman said 74 soldiers and about 100 rebels were also seriously wounded.

The battle started when soldiers tried to move from the Muhamalai defence line on the northern Jaffna peninsula and advance into an area held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The spokesman said 52 Tiger rebels and more..

Lankapress COLOMBO, April 22 : Tamil separatists destroyed an army tank after Sri Lankan war planes bombed a Roman Catholic church compound killing a man and wounding two children, the rebels said Tuesday.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said one of its anti-tank units confronted the soldiers who were trying to break into rebel-held territory.

The group gave no details of casualties, but said they beat back a military thrust following a 30-minute clash in the Jaffna peninsula.

"The infantry-armour combined battle teams of the Sri Lanka army more..

Lankapress COLOMBO, April 22 : Panel members Nigel Rodley (L), Professor Yozo Yokota (R) and Justice P. N. Bhagwati (C) of an international luminary panel invited to probe 16 cases of rights violations attend a press conference in Colombo on April 22, 2008.  The international panel quit in disgust this month saying Colombo lacked the political will to clean up its rights record. The government also accused the panel of laying the ground work for an international rights panel to monitor rights abuses in Sri Lanka, a charge denied by the group of international luminaries.  (AFP) more..

Lankapress COLOMBO, April 22 : A team of international legal experts Tuesday stepped up their criticism of Sri Lanka, noting that repeated calls to improve its record on the issue had fallen on deaf ears.

The International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) said Colombo lacked the political will to investigate grave rights abuses.

The panel members spoke to reporters Tuesday for the first time after attacking Colombo in a statement last month for blocking efforts to ensure minimum standards were maintained in probing serious abuses.

As their work progressed, the government's tone "was becoming increasingly disrespectful more..

Lankapress COLOMBO, April 21: Sri Lanka Monday warned it will use security forces and the police to crack down on traders suspected of hoarding rice following government-imposed price controls, officials said.

Consumer Affairs Minister Bandula Gunawardena ordered the police to use tough emergency laws to crack down on wholesale dealers who say they are unable to sell rice at prices specified by the government.

On Thursday, Gunawardena set a maximum retail price of the most popular Samba rice at 70 rupees a kilogramme (65 US cents), but traders said more..

Lankapress COLOMBO, April 20 : Sri Lankan forces Sunday killed a Roman Catholic priest inside rebel-held territory, Tiger guerrillas said as the defence ministry reported 16 more deaths in fresh violence.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said Father M.X. Karunaratnam, who was also a top human rights campaigner, was killed in a roadside bomb attack carried out by government soldiers who infiltrated the Mallavi area.

The priest headed the North East Secretariat on Human Rights, a group active in guerrilla-held Wanni region in the north of the island, the more..

Lankapress COLOMBO, April 20: Sri Lankan war planes bombed a flotilla of fast boats operated by Tamil Tiger rebels off the island's north-eastern waters, the defence ministry said Sunday.

Aircraft carried out the bombing raid in the seas off Mullaitivu on Saturday evening after spy planes spotted the rebel boat formation, the ministry said in a statement.

"The air raid was successful," the statement said without giving details.

There was no immediate word from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who are resisting a major more..

Lankapress COLOMBO, April 19 : At least 28 Tamil Tiger rebels and one soldier have been killed in artillery duels across Sri Lanka's war-ravaged north, the defence ministry said on Saturday.

Security forces killed 25 members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Mannar district while three others were killed in nearby Weli Oya district on Friday, the ministry said.

It said one soldier was killed in clashes in Weli Oya.

There was no immediate word from the LTTE who have been locked in more..

Lankapress COLOMBO, April 19: Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will travel to Sri Lanka later this month to inaugurate construction of an Iranian-funded hydroelectricity project, the government said on Friday.

Iran is paying for the 450-million-dollar Uma Oya power project which is slated to produce 100 megawatts of electricity annually.

"The Iranian president will be arriving in Colombo on April 28 on a two-day state visit," junior Foreign Minister Hussain Baila said.

The Iranian president is expected to travel to the deep south of the island for a ceremony more..

Lankapress COLOMBO, April 18 : At least six Tamil Tiger guerrillas and two soldiers were killed in fresh fighting in northern Sri Lanka, the defence ministry said on Friday.

Two members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were killed in the Mannar district while four others were killed in nearby Weli Oya district on Thursday, the ministry said.

The fighting also claimed the lives of two government soldiers, the ministry said. There was no immediate reaction from the Tigers.

The government says it has killed at more..

Lankapress COLOMBO, April 17: Sri Lanka's military said Thursday that war planes had destroyed a suspected Tamil Tiger logistics base in the north, but the rebels said that bombs had instead hit civilian homes, killing a child.

Fighter jets carried out the bombing raid inside the rebel-held Wanni region, the defence ministry said. It said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had used the location as a "key logistics hub" for construction work.

However, the Tigers countered that the aircraft had hit "several civilian huts." more..

Lankapress COLOMBO, April 16 : Sri Lanka said on Wednesday it had withdrawn two out of three offshore oil exploration blocks it put up for bids after receiving fewer offers than expected.

Sri Lanka, which imports all its oil needs, offered three blocks to investors after seismic surveys showed oil deposits along the northwestern coast.

Petroleum minister A.H.M. Fowzie said the government withdrew two out of the three blocks after drawing less interest than expected.

It plans to finalise a partner for exploration in the other block which more..

Lankapress COLOMBO, April 15: A panel of top legal luminaries told Sri Lanka's government on Tuesday to clean up its human rights record, saying an escalating war against Tamil rebels had brought with it grave abuses.

The International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP), comprising experts from several countries, the European Union and United Nations, said the government did not appear interested in taking action.

"The IIGEP has... found an absence of will on the part of the Government of Sri Lanka in the present inquiry to investigate more..

Lankapress COLOMBO, April 12 : Ferocious fighting erupted between government forces and Tamil rebels in northern Sri Lanka Saturday on the eve of the traditional New Year, with both claiming heavy losses against each other.

The defence ministry said troops moved into territory held by the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the Mannar district sparking heavy fighting.

The ministry said troops killed at least 30 Tiger guerrillas for the loss of six government soldiers.

However, the LTTE in a statement said they lost only three of their more..

Lankapress COLOMBO, April 9: At least 93 Sri Lankan soldiers were killed and another 686 injured during clashes with Tamil Tiger rebels last month, the prime minister told parliament Wednesday.

Premier Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, in a statement to the 225-member national legislature, said 38 civilians were killed and another 21 wounded in March.

"The number of security personnel killed last month was 93 while another 686 soldiers and police were wounded," Wickremanayake said.

His figures were higher than the numbers released by the defence ministry in their daily more..

Lankapress COLOMBO, April 9 : The United Nations agency for children welcomed on Wednesday the release of 11 child soldiers by a Tamil militant group and called for the freeing of all under-age combatants.

A pro-government Tamil militant group known as the TMVP freed the children from their ranks, UNICEF said.

"Whilst this is an encouraging development, we continue to look forward to the release of all children in the ranks of armed groups in Sri Lanka," UNICEF chief here, Philippe Duamelle, said in a statement. more..

Lankapress COLOMBO, April 8: Sri Lanka's elite police commandos shot dead at least two soldiers and a civilian in a case of mistaken identity during a search in the restive east of the island, police said.

The Special Task Force commandos opened fire at a group of men they believed were members of the Tamil Tiger separatist movement, but they turned out to be troops on a similar mission in Ampara district, a police official said.

Sri Lankan forces are locked in combat with the rebel Liberation Tigers more..

Lankapress COLOMBO, April 7 : Sri Lankan war planes targeted Tamil suicide bombers on Monday, a day after the assassination of a top minister, the defence ministry said, amid fears of more attacks ahead of the traditional New Year.

Air force jets attacked a "Black Tiger," or suicide bomber, base in the Mankulam area of the rebel-held north, the defence ministry said, adding the planes hit their targets.

There was no comment by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who are fighting for an independent more..

Lankapress COLOMBO, April 6 : Sri Lanka Highways Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle (C) attends to the opening ceremony of a sporting festivities to mark next week's traditional new year, in Weliveriya, some 30 Kms from Colombo on, April 6, 2008. A suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber assassinated a senior Sri Lankan minister in an attack that also killed 11 others and wounded more than 90, police and officials said. Highways minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, 55, was presiding over sporting events in the town of Weliveriya outside of the capital when the blast ripped through the large gathering, police said. (AFP) more..

Lankapress COLOMBO, April 6 : A suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber assassinated Sri Lanka's highways minister as he opened a marathon Sunday in an attack that killed 13 other people and wounded 100, police and officials said.

Senior minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, 55, was killed in the town of Weliveriya outside the capital Colombo in a blast that ripped through athletes, officials and spectators, police said.

The minister walked up to the starting line where more than 100 runners were lined up and about to set off when there was a huge explosion.

"It was a suicide bombing of the Tigers," media minister Anura Yapa said.

Fernandopulle, a vocal critic of the separatist more..