Posts Tagged ‘AFP’
EU calls for humanitarian ceasefire in Sri Lanka
[AFP] EU foreign ministers are set to make a joint call next week for an immediate ceasefire between Sri Lankan security forces and Tamil Tiger rebels to allow aid in and civilians out of the conflict zone. “The EU is deeply concerned about the evolving humanitarian crisis and vast number of internally displaced people,” according…
Read MoreRed Cross denies stirring panic in Sri Lanka
[AFP] The Red Cross on Wednesday rejected charges it was trying to stir panic over the plight of Sri Lankan civilians trapped in fighting between soldiers and Tamil rebels in a row over body bag orders placed by the group. The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross said it had placed orders for 2,500…
Read MoreTop US Senators worried over Sri Lanka violence
[AFP] Two senior US Senators on Monday jointly urged Sri Lanka’s government and Tamil Tiger rebels to safeguard civilians and ease humanitarian access to areas affected by the deadly conflict. Democrat John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Republican Richard Lugar, the panel’s top Republican, said they were “greatly concerned about the…
Read MoreBerlin unimpressed by Sri Lankan ‘threats’ to ambassador
[AFP] Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse said that there would be “dire consequences” for any foreign non-governmental organisation, diplomat or correspondent attempting to give “terrorists a second breath of life.” Berlin made it clear on Sunday that it was unimpressed by “threats” from Sri Lanka’s top defence official to expel Germany’s ambassador and other foreigners seen…
Read MoreIndian Tamils demand end to Sri Lanka’s war
[AFP] India’s large Tamil population is demanding that New Delhi ensure the safety of 250,000 of their brethren boxed into the battle zone in Sri Lanka’s north. Protesters have poured into the streets in Tamil Nadu state, home to 62 million Indian Tamils, in the past week to call for a ceasefire in the conflict…
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