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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
The announcement of the surrender of the Tamil rebels was greeted with joy in Colombo. No human tide in the streets, but a few festive scenes that come to greet the end of a 30 years war. “The whole world was saying that we couldn’t beat this terrorism,” comments a taxi driver. We are grateful…
Sri Lanka was voting on Saturday. 16 million voters choose a new president. 35 candidates are in the running. An election against a backdrop of latent tensions over the country’s Muslim minority, 10% of the population of 22 million. The attacks on behalf of the Islamic State group, which killed 269 people at Easter, in…
At least 13 prisoners have been killed in Sri Lanka’s largest prison in Colombo, the capital. To the chagrin of the police, detainees managed to take control of part of the penitentiary center and to take staff members hostage. Some prisoners were armed. The soldiers were called in as reinforcements.
The Sri Lankan army is searching mud mountains in Aranayaka for around 100 people missing after a landslide that buried two villages, killing at least 24 people.
Getting re-elected and staying in power: this is the goal that the outgoing President of Sri Lanka intends to achieve on Tuesday in the presidential elections. Mahinda Rajapakse, whose popularity exploded last year thanks to victory against the Tamil rebellion, hopes to capitalize on it. His main opponent may well thwart his plans. He is…
Floods in Sri Lanka have left at least eight people dead, according to authorities, who have deployed relief efforts to try to help victims in six districts. They also fear landslides. Some 38,000 people have been affected by these floods. The month of May marks the onset of the monsoon in southern Sri Lanka.
Nearly 15 million voters were called to the polls in Sri Lanka to say which of the two main candidates will win the supreme seat. Among them, the head of state, whose term will only end in two years and who has taken the liberty of bringing forward the date of the election. With the…