At least 60 people died in the explosion of a truck carrying ammunition near the port of Batticaloa in eastern Sri Lanka. It is an accident. The explosion took place inside a police station and most of the victims are police officers. According to local media, two Chinese entrepreneurs were also among those killed. The…
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…
Tens of thousands of worshipers flocked to Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka this Sunday to celebrate Vesak Day. This traditional festival commemorates the three major stages of the historical Buddha’s existence: his birth, his awakening and his death. Over two-thirds of Sri Lankans’ 20 million are Buddhists.
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.
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…
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…
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…
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.
Still shaken by the attacks of April 21, the Sri Lankan authorities are on the alert. As Ramadan begins, hundreds of police have been deployed near mosques. On this island of 22 million inhabitants, mainly Buddhists, 10% are Muslims. They fear violence against them. “We will continue our fast as usual, but we are not…
It’s jubilation in the capital of Sri Lanka. Part of the population is savoring the near end of 37 years of a bloody conflict with the Tamil rebellion. The most irreducible Tigers, surrounded by the Sri Lankan army in a coastal area of barely a few km2, preferred to stop fighting. President Mahinda Rajapaksa purposely…
According to the UN , thousands of people have been killed as a result of the conflict between the government and the Tamil tigers. Conflict lost by the rebels. The report talks about war crimes and crimes against humanity. The High Commissioner of the UN Human Rights considers that an international investigation is needed.
In Sri Lanka, inter-community violence left three dead and several dozen injured. It happened overnight from Sunday to Monday in a tourist area in the south of the island. An extremist Buddhist group, claiming to have been attacked by Muslims, launched retaliatory attacks. Several mosques were damaged. The Muslim minority accuses the authorities of having…
Civilians trapped in the conflict in Sri Lanka are at the center of the concerns of the UN Security Council. He demands their evacuation from the combat zones and asks the Tamil rebels to lay down their arms. The Sri Lankan army has launched a muscular offensive against the separatists who are cornered in an…