Saturday, May 31, 2008

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels turning more violent amid gov't offensive, official says

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels are becoming more violent as they suffer setbacks because of a new government offensive, a top official from the war-torn South Asian nation said Saturday.

Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona said the Tigers have shown no interest in negotiating for permanent peace to end 25 years of separatist violence on the island nation off southern India.

On the contrary, there is a "continuing focus on their part to resort to violence and terrorism" — evident from recent deadly train and bus bombings — Kohona told reporters on the sidelines of a regional security conference in Singapore.

"It looks like they are absolutely committed to terrorism and nothing else. Maybe because in the battlefield they have been pushed back methodically by the government and their only response is to blow up civilians," Kohona said.

Public affairs personnel for the Tamil Tigers were not immediately available for comment.

Read more,
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/31/

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