Latest Sri Lanka Stories
COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's military has taken control of the northeastern area of Sampur from Tiger rebels after days of fighting to secure the southern lip of strategic Trincomalee harbour, a military official said on Monday. The fall comes after days of fierce artillery battles between the foes for control of the area, from which the rebels had been able to shell a major naval base and disrupt a maritime supply route to government-held Jaffna peninsula to the north. "Sampur has...
By Simon Gardner COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's navy said on Saturday it sank 12 Tamil Tiger craft in a pre-dawn naval battle off the island's northern tip, killing dozens of guerrillas including suicide fighters, but the rebels dismissed the claim. The clash at sea near the besieged army-held Jaffna peninsula comes amid five weeks of intense fighting after four years of ceasefire, and as the army seeks to wrest control of rebel territory near a strategic port in the island's...
By Simon Gardner COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's navy sank 12 Tamil Tiger craft overnight in a naval battle off the island's northern tip and dozens of rebels, including suicide fighters, are believed to have been killed, the military said on Saturday. The clash at sea near the besieged army-held Jaffna peninsula comes amid five weeks of intense fighting after four years of ceasefire, and as the army seeks to wrest control of rebel territory near a strategic port in the island's...
COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's navy sank 12 Tamil Tiger craft overnight in a fierce naval battle off the island's northern tip, the military said on Saturday, adding that it believed it had killed dozens of rebel fighters. "It was a major attack. There were 20 rebel boats. We were able to destroy 12 LTTE craft, including five LTTE suicide boats," a military spokesman told Reuters. "They were humiliated in their so-called seas and withdrew." He said he believed at least 75 Tigers were...
By Simon GardnerCOLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's army mounted an offensive to capture rebel-held territory south of the strategic northeastern harbour of Trincomalee on Friday, officials said, and a naval battle broke out off the island's northern tip.The army is trying to take the Tamil Tiger-held town of Sampur, from where the rebels are in artillery range of a major naval base and able to disrupt a key maritime supply route to the besieged army-held northern Jaffna peninsula."We are...
By Simon Gardner COLOMBO (Reuters) - The United Nations threatened overnight to suspend aid operations in Sri Lanka after international truce monitors accused government troops of executing aid workers. Nordic truce monitors on Wednesday formally accused Sri Lankan soldiers of being behind the execution-style murders of 17 local staff members of the Action Contre La Faim aid agency earlier this month during a battle with Tamil Tiger rebels in the northeast. The government denies it,...
By Simon Gardner COLOMBO (Reuters) - The United Nations threatened overnight to suspend aid operations in Sri Lanka after truce monitors accused the security forces of executing aid workers. Nordic truce monitors on Wednesday formally accused the security forces of being behind the execution-style murders of 17 local staff of aid agency Action Contre La Faim earlier this month in the northeast. The government denies it, and angry officials accused the monitors of being biased toward...
By Simon Gardner COLOMBO (Reuters) - The United Nations threatened overnight to suspend aid operations in Sri Lanka after truce monitors accused the security forces of executing aid workers. Nordic truce monitors on Wednesday formally accused the security forces of being behind the execution-style murders of 17 local staff of aid agency Action Contre La Faim earlier this month in the northeast. The government denies it. "We have no independent information ourselves in the U.N., but I...
By Peter Apps COLOMBO (Reuters) - International ceasefire monitors blamed Sri Lankan troops on Wednesday for the killing of 17 aid workers during fighting with Tamil tiger rebels earlier in the month. The victims were working on tsunami relief projects for international aid group Action Contre La Faim in the northeastern town of Mutur, the scene of several days of fighting between troops and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). "SLMM is, with the obtained findings, convinced...
By Peter Apps COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lankan troops battled Tamil Tiger rebels on Tuesday in a new offensive, jeopardizing the evacuation of foreign nationals from the besieged north of the island and threatening an escalation of the conflict. The government offensive is aimed at forcing the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to vacate positions around Sampur on the southern edge of Trincomalee harbor, from where they have launched attacks on military shipping and shelled the...
Latest Sri Lanka Reference Libraries
The Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) is a subspecies of the leopard that is native to Sri Lanka. The range of this subspecies is highly fragmented, but in some areas, it does occur in high numbers. It prefers many types of habitats including rainforests, arid scrublands, evergreen monsoon forests, upper and lowland forests, and damp forests. The Sri Lankan leopard differs in size depending upon sex. Males can reach and average body length of about our feet with an average weight...
The golden palm civet (Paradoxurus zeylonensis) is a small mammal that can be found in Sri Lanka. Its range is fragmented into separate areas, including the Sinharaja Forest area, Uda Walawe National Park, and Wasgomuwa and Yala National Parks. It prefers a habitat in evergreen, monsoon, and lowland forests. The coat of this civet is dark brown to brownish gold in color. Although there is not much information about this species, it is thought to consume many things like insects, berries,...
The ruddy mongoose (Herpestes smithii) is native to Sri Lanka and India. It prefers a habitat within forested areas, but can sometimes be found in open fields. It holds two subspecies throughout its range, with one occurring in Sri Lanka and the other occurring in India. This species resembles the Indian gray mongoose, although it is larger and has a longer, black tipped tail. As is similar to mongoose species, it hunts during the daytime and nighttime. In Sri Lanka, this mongoose is called...
Symbol: LIROW Group: Dicot Family: Oleaceae Classification: Kingdom Plantae – Plants Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants Class Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons Subclass Asteridae Order Scrophulariales Family Oleaceae – Olive family Genus Ligustrum L. –...
The Plum-headed Parakeet (Psittacula cyanocephala) is a species of bird that is found in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It is native to the Indian subcontinent. This bird's natural habitat is forest and open woodland. Though not exploited heavily, aviculture is taking its toll on local populations of this species across most of its range. Population is reduced in urban areas and heavily inhabited regions. The adult is about 13 inches long with a tail that can measure up to...
