S Lanka army in ghost ‘Tiger’ town
[ BBC ]
Heavy monsoon rains were falling as we approached the outskirts of Mullaitivu in a Sri Lankan armoured personnel carrier. “We had to fight here for one week or so,” said Colonel Arun Aryasinghe, as he showed us a huge earthen defence line constructed by the Tamil Tigers. “It was a very hard battle.” Mullaitivu used to be one of the Tigers’ most important bases. Now the Sri Lankan flag flies overhead, and government troops are in complete control. But they have inherited a ghost town, full of broken buildings. Apart from men in uniform, a stray dog wandering through a burnt-out shop was one of the only signs of life.