The plight of civilians trapped in fighting in the northeast of Sri Lanka finally walked through the door of the Security Council of the UN . After further escalation of violence between government troops and the Tamil rebellion, its 15 permanent members adopted a joint declaration. “The members of the Security Council strongly condemn the…
It is the potential return of Mahinda Rajapakse on the political scene which is the real stake and unknown of the poll. Mahinda Rajapakse, defeated in the presidential elections of January 2015, tries to return to business, by becoming Prime Minister. He indeed reigned over the country without division for ten years. In 2004, he…
For over a decade, Kilinochchi served as the capital for the Liberation Tigers movement from Tamil Islam. But in November 2008, the Sri Lankan army launched attacks on the city from three different locations. The fighting raged in particular on the A9 motorway, the main axis connecting Colombo with the Tamil areas in the north…
This morning, the Sri Lankan president formalized the victory of the regular army over the Tamil separatists. In a nationally broadcast address to parliament, Mahinda Rajapaksa declared the end of 25 years of civil war. “The law now reigns over the whole country,” he said. The last fights took place in a handkerchief of 300…
The Tamil rebels militarily beaten in Sri Lanka, this is what the president of the country affirms this evening. To the media, images of victory are presented. This morning the government army invaded a beach, permanently blocking access to the sea for the Tamil Tigers, and any possibility of escaping the fight. The situation is…
Due to heavy rainfall and devastating floods that hit Sri Lanka, the streets of the capital Colombo are less crowded than usual this year for the Buddhist festival of Vesak, which marks birth, spiritual awakening and death. death of Lord Buddha.
Sri Lanka ends 37 years of civil war but the international community is concerned about the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the conflict. President Rajapakse congratulated himself on killing the last 300 rebels on Monday. Among the victims, the supreme leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Vellupilai Prabhakan. These diehards were holed up in…
Thousands of civilians abandoned to their fate, hundreds of wounded trapped without medical aid. In Sri Lanka, the International Committee of the Red Cross says it is powerless in the face of an unimaginable catastrophe. And the Sri Lankan government has once again rejected calls from the international community to stop the offensive against the…
Hopes of finding survivors are slim after the devastating mudslides in Sri Lanka. This is what the authorities indicated on Thursday the day after the tragedy in the village of Haldummulla, 200 kilometers from the capital Colombo. Backhoes and rescuers tackled tons of mud that swept away some 150 tin houses on a tea plantation….
The northern part of Sri Lanka, where the ballot is taking place, was the scene for years of a civil war between the government and Tamil separatists, killing tens of thousands. The army defeated the rebels in 2009. Tamils vote to appoint a semi-autonomous council of 38 members. “We are going to demand that solutions…
Tens of thousands of civilians are fleeing the combat zones, as the Sri Lankan National Army launched its final assault on the Tamil Tigers, entrenched in the northeast of the island. And each denounces the attitude of the other towards civilians. The government accuses the rebels of using them as human shields. The rebels in…
The cricket match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, which was played this Sunday in Colombo, was interrupted for about twenty minutes following throwing of various objects. Marvan Atapattu’s men were not very enterprising and never really managed to worry their opponents, a spectacle that did not please their supporters. Pakistan ultimately won and leads 2-1…
A “historic victory for the nation”… These are the words of the president of Sri Lanka, whose army today seized the city of Kilinochchi, political capital of the rebels of the Tamil Tigers. Last September, UN agencies and humanitarian organizations present in Kilinocchi had to withdraw under pressure from the Sri Lankan state, as a…
On the second day of his visit to Sri Lanka, Pope Francoise visited the waterfront in Colombo, the country’s capital. The Bishop of Rome crossed the famous city promenade in his popemobile and sparked the jubilation of the faithful who had been waiting for him for hours. About a million worshipers had gathered to attend…
Sri Lankan army soldiers relish their advance. This morning, and for the first time in 25 years of war, they took control of the entire coastline, according to military officials. They make it impossible for Tamil warriors to have any access to the sea, and now completely encircle the tiny territory of one square kilometer…
The founder and leader of the Tamil guerrilla was reportedly killed by the Sri Lankan army. Velupillai Prabhakaran is said to have been ambushed while trying to escape in an ambulance with two of his lieutenants. The Sri Lankan army has also announced that it controlled the entire island for the first time since the…
In Sri Lanka, these demonstrators fear for the life of the former army chief. In the capital Colombo, thousands of regime opponents demanded the release of Sarath Fonseka; they fear his assassination in prison. Sarath Fonseka lost the presidential elections on January 26 to President Rajapakse. He must be brought to court martial for conspiring…
The tsunami of December 26, 2004 left 35,000 dead and 550,000 homeless in Sri Lanka. In the south of the country, the wave reached the height of a three-story building. After the disaster, according to the OECD , 11 billion euros in donations reached NGOs . What are the different actions that have been carried…
Thousands of people gathered in the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka, to witness a colorful elephant parade during a festival. Dancers, acrobats and musicians joined in the fun.
A dramatic turn in Sri Lanka. The unsuccessful presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka was arrested on Monday by the police, on charges of “military offenses”. The authorities suspect the former head of the armed forces of wanting to instigate a coup d’état. Ally last spring to the outgoing president in the fight against the Tamil rebels,…