LTTE offensive attempt thrashed: 52 LTTE killed, many injured - Jaffna

Jaffna theatre of battle heated up since early this morning (April 23), as Sri Lanka army 55 and 53 divisions put- on stiff resistance to an LTTE embarked fresh offensives at the Army forwards defences on the Muhamalai and Kilaly frontiers. According to the defence sources in Jaffna heavy fighting broke out between troops and LTTE since 2 am this morning, as troops mounted retaliatory attacks at the offensive LTTE formations.

According to latest information LTTE suffered severe beating and were pushed some 500m back from its initial positions. Seizing the opportunity SLA broke the LTTE's first line of defence in the Muhamalai front, and are now engaged in consolidating the defence lines, security sources said.

So far, 15 soldiers have laid their lives while 74 suffered injuries and some of them have been air lifted to Colombo national hospital. Meanwhile, monitored radio communications and ground sources have confirmed that 52 LTTE terrorists have been killed and many injured in the latest skirmishes in Jaffna, Military Spokesperson Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.

Extracted from,
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080423_03

Once again, LTTE with Qatar, Libya & Eritrea against Ethiopia & Sri Lanka

Funny how we never realize the inside international politics until some major event happens, like the Ethiopian closure of diplomatic ties with the Qatari royal government. A few months ago, no one knew (at least i didn't) if the Norway-LTTE-Eritrea link existed until Ethiopia told six Norwegian diplomats to leave the country.

A brief research allowed us back then to see Eritrea's role and Norway's symapthy for separatist movements that isolated Norway's pro-LTTE policy from the rest of the European Union (EU). Norway's sympathy for OLF and ONLF (and its Eritrean financers) got it kicked out of Africa's capital - Addis Ababa. Now yesterday's top news brings us to another interesting connection. That is between , the LTTE and Libya, Qatar, Eritrea against Ethiopia & Sri Lanka.

This time, it takes us back 8 years to the Eritrea vs Ethiopia border war. When Ethiopia used its coffee income and hardwon money to buy weapons and tanks from China and other countries.

Guess what? Eritrea was getting everything FREE from Libya and Qatar ! Apparently, both Eritrea and Ethiopia also bought military stuff from Russia. But again, the difference is Eritrea gets its funds with no sweats from Qatar and Libya. Eritrea also forces its Diaspora to pay large amount of tax...while Ethiopian government asked for Ethiopian Diaspora volunteers.
Read more,
http://www.africanpath.com/p_blogEntry.cfm?blogEntryID=4519

Priyanka –Nalini Meet May Provide LTTE Advantage on Local Support Issue

Priyanka – Nalini recently held meet has strained in Murugan and Nalini marital relations.

The scheduled permitted meeting under prisons rules was fixed between husband wife facing death sentence in Rajiv Gandhi assassination April 19, could be made possible because refusal of both to meet each other.

It is to remember here that jail authorities have allowed both to meet once in every fortnight and in last meeting after much publicized Priyanka – Nalini meeting on March 19, both were seen in full fight mood with heated word exchanges.

Nalini has declined even to meet Murugan’s London based brother Arputham Kuildasan and mother Perarivalan on April 15.

Read more,
http://abclive.in/abclive_national/priyanka_nalini-ltte.html

Sri Lankan military battle tank destroyed in north: LTTE

The Tamil Tiger rebels Tuesday claimed to have destroyed a main battle tank of the Sri Lankan Army during a clash with advancing government troops close to their forward defences in the northern Jaffna peninsula.

'A Sri Lankan Army tank was fully destroyed at Muhamalai Forward Defence Line (FDL) Tuesday morning around 7.30 a.m. when Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) anti-tank unit confronted the army soldiers who attempted to break the Tiger FDL,' pro-LTTE Tamilnet website reported, quoting LTTE sources.

'The Sri Lankan Army has sustained heavy casualties in Muhamalai,' the Tigers said, giving no details of their own casualty figures.

The LTTE's fresh claim comes in the wake of escalating clashes between the advancing government troops and the fighting formations of the LTTE in the northern Wanni, Jaffna and northwestern Mannar region, leaving thousands of combatants killed and wounded over the past year.

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, however, denied the latest claims by the rebels and said that 'the military have never used battle tanks in these areas'.

Read more,
http://www.indiaenews.com/srilanka/20080422/113017.htm

Bhagwati panel exit won't affect Commission's work: Lanka govt

The Sri Lankan government on Tuesday said the exit of the International Group of Eminent Persons appointed to monitor a Commission looking into human rights abuses in Sri Lanka would not affect the functioning of the panel.

"The departure of IIGEP does not in any way adversely affect the ability of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to carry forward its inquires and investigations in keeping with international standards," the Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights, Mahinda Samarasinghe told reporters.

However, the IIGEP head and former Chief Justice of India, P N Bhagwati told reporters that the CoI had been slow to respond to the panel's recommendations.

"We don't see a point of carrying on our role further," Bhagwati said.

Read more,
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200804222074.htm