Sri Lanka on alert following surge in rebel attacks
Sri Lankan security forces went on red alert today, military officials said, securing a supply corridor into the restive east following a surge in attacks blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels that have endangered the country’s shaky cease-fire.
Suspected rebels shot and wounded a police officer today in the north-eastern town of Trincomalee in the latest of 10 bombing and shooting attacks since Tuesday, said military spokesman Brig. Daya Ratnayake.
Police and military reinforcements were sent to the country’s eastern region to secure power lines and a key route used by thousands of troops and civilians, military officials said.
The heightened alert came a day after rebels shut down political offices in government-controlled areas, accusing the government of failing to protect rebels travelling through those areas. Dozens of Tigers started pulling back yesterday into rebel-held territory from eastern cities of Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara.
“We are not satisfied with the security measures of the government, which has compromised the safety of our members,” said rebel spokesman Daya Master, confirming the withdrawal.
He said rebels would also pull out of the north if violence persisted.
Tigers political chief SP Thamilselvan demanded on June 30 that the government boost security for rebels travelling through government-held areas within two weeks – or risk the collapse of the February 2002 cease-fire that ended the country’s brutal two-decade civil war. The deadline expires today.
The government on Monday agreed conditionally to increase the Tigers’ security escorts, but the guerrillas were not satisfied. The rebels have demanded better protection after a bomb narrowly missed a bus carrying 41 rebels last month.
The Tamil Tigers began fighting in 1983 for a separate homeland for minority ethnic Tamils in the country’s north and east, claiming discrimination by the majority Sinhalese. The conflict had killed nearly 65,000 people before the February 2002 cease-fire.
Post-truce peace talks have been stalled since 2003 over rebel demands for wide autonomy.
