“Attacks on media must stop”
[IRIN]
The Sri Lankan government is under intense local and international pressure to halt attacks against journalists and media organisations after a newspaper editor was killed and a private television station attacked by unidentified armed gangs. The incidents came as the military announced making significant headway in its battle against Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) separatists in the north and northeast of the island. Ground troops took control of the rebels’ main headquarters in Kilinochchi on 2 January and shortly after, a key access route to the northern Jaffna peninsula, Elephant Pass. An offensive to capture the northeastern Mullaitivu District is under way.