Posts Tagged ‘AP’
UN: 250K civilians facing food crisis in Sri Lanka
[AP] The United Nations warned that civilians caught in the shrinking sliver of territory still controlled by the rebels are facing a massive food crisis, and convoys may not be able to deliver supplies until late next week. Concern for the fate of civilians – hundreds of whom observers say have died in the latest…
Read MoreSri Lanka war near end, but ethnic tension remains
[AP] The Sri Lankan government is poised to crush the Tamil Tiger rebels and end a quarter-century civil war that has killed tens of thousands. But it still faces a major challenge beyond the battlefield: resolving the ethnic conflict that fueled the uprising. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has consistently expressed support for a deal to give…
Read MoreUN: 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 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…
Read MoreSri Lankan official warns diplomats, CNN, BBC
[AP] Sri Lanka warned Western diplomats, foreign journalists and aid groups Sunday that they would be “chased” out of the country if they appear to favor the Tamil Tiger rebels. Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa singled out the ambassadors of Switzerland and Germany, and television networks CNN, BBC and Al-Jazeera in his criticism of foreigners, accusing…
Read More