UN: Cluster bombs hit hospital in Sri Lanka
[AP] Cluster bombs struck the last functioning hospital in Sri Lanka’s northern war zone Wednesday, the U.N. said, as the country’s president declared that the military has nearly crushed a 25-year Tamil rebellion for a separate homeland. U.N. spokesman Gordon Weiss said 15 U.N. staffers and 81 family members are trapped in the Puthukkudiyiruppu area,…
Read MoreCeasefire urged as 52 killed in Sri Lanka war zone
[Reuters] The United States and Britain urged a temporary cease-fire in Sri Lanka to evacuate casualties and allow relief into the war zone as the Island nation celebrates independence from colonial ruler Britain on Wednesday. President Mahinda Rajapaksa was due to preside at a parade of military might in the capital on Wednesday morning that…
Read MoreSri Lanka: Disregard for Civilian Safety Appalling
[ HRW ] A Sri Lankan government statement that it is not responsible for the safety of civilians who remain in areas controlled by the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) indicates an appalling disregard for the well-being of the civilian population and is contrary to international law, Human Rights Watch said today. There…
Read MoreVictims of war
[The Economist] The governments of Sri Lanka and Israel both deny any intention to hurt civilians, but critics allege that civilian deaths were not incidental to recent fighting but represented, at the least, a lack of care for non-combatants and, at worst, a form of collective punishment for those suspected of sympathising with militants. Elsewhere…
Read MoreLast hospital in Sri Lanka war zone evacuated
[ AP ] Patients are fleeing a hospital that was hit four times by artillery shells in the war between the Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces in northern Sri Lanka this week, the Red Cross said Tuesday. Also Tuesday, the military said it had captured the rebels’ seventh and final airstrip, effectively grounding their…
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