Colombo, May 14: A fresh wave of killings gripped
Sri Lanka's embattled North-East with 19 shot dead in separate incidents, police and military officials said today.
Sri Lanka President vows to hit back against LTTE
Tamil Tigers dismiss calls to end Navy operations
Sri Lanka seeks help to identify woman suicide bomber
The violence came as Tamil Tiger rebels vowed a "war"
to deploy their Navy even though truce monitors said it
violated a ceasefire.
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse warned the
LTTE not to take his patience for weakness and said his policy
of air strikes was aimed at preventing a full-scale war.
Unidentified gunmen attacked the home of a local
resident in Kayts in the Jaffna peninsula and shot dead nine
people, including four children and wounded two more, the
military said.
Three more civilians were gunned down in a separate
incident in Kayts yesterday.
In a third incident in the Kayts Islet, another man
was shot dead, police said, adding two men were shot dead at
Atchchuveli while a soldier was killed in a tiger grenade
attack at Kopay.
Troops retaliated killing one of the attackers and
raised to 17 the number of people killed in Jaffna peninsula
in a 24-hour period.
Two more people were shot dead in the restive
North-Eastern port district of Trincomalee this morning and
the victims were allegedly killed by a breakaway faction of
Tamil Tigers, police said.
One man was riding a cycle when he was killed while
the other was driving a tractor when he was gunned down,
police said.
LTTE dismissed calls by Scandinavian truce monitors to
stop rebel Navy missions and have threatened "war" to keep
their men at sea, officials said today.
The LTTE's Naval Wing Chief, Colonel Soosai, said on
the pro-rebel Tamilnet website that the LTTE were "not
prepared to relinquish sovereign rights to the seas which we
have won with the sacrifice of our people."
"We move with complete freedom in these waters to
transport our cadres and to distribute material needed by our
movement," Soosai, who uses one name, said.
"We will not hesitate to wage war with anyone who
attempts to prevent us from exercising our freedom."
Meanwhile, Rajapakse said he was committed to a
negotiated settlement to the Tamil separatist conflict, but
would do everything possible to defend the country against
attacks.
"My patience should not be misconstrued as weakness,"
he said in an interview published today in the Sunday Times
newspaper, adding, "if they insist on continuing their
attacks, I have to defend my country."
Rajapakse also urged the LTTE to "cease violence" and
resume negotiations with the government on ending conflict.
He said many believed that the Tigers had declared
"war" when a suicide bomber tried to kill Army Chief Sarath
Fosenka on April 25, but the government still respected the
truce in place since 2002.
"I had to make sure that such dastardly attacks are
not repeated. I have vowed to protect the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Sri Lanka."
Rajapakse said the international community must
pressure the Tigers to enter the peace negotiations.
Bureau Report