Sri Lankan blasts kill 11

2005-12-27 17:28

Colombo - Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels staged two bomb attacks in Sri Lanka's embattled regions on Tuesday, killing 10 soldiers and a constable and heightening fears for a faltering truce in the island's ethnic war, said military officials.

The soldiers were ambushed with a Claymore mine at Puloly in the Jaffna peninsula, where 18 soldiers were killed in two similar attacks earlier this month, said an official.

"The soldiers were in a convoy transporting lunch for their colleagues when they were hit," said the official, adding that eight soldiers escaped with injuries.

In the eastern district of Batticaloa, suspected rebels threw an explosive device at a police patrol, killing a constable and wounding two, said a military official in the region.

In Jaffna town, an office of the British mine-clearing charity, the Halo Trust, was attacked by unidentified men who stole a 4x4 vehicle, police said, adding that there were no casualties.

Stock exchange prices dropped 6.83%

Four days ago, the Tigers were accused of another ambush that killed at least 15 sailors and wounded an equal number in the northwest of the island.

The escalation of violence fuelled fears that the country could be slipping back to war, and prices on the tiny Colombo Stock Exchange fell by a hefty 6.83% on Tuesday, the first trading day after the Christmas holidays.

The latest killings came as the troubled northeast was gripped by a work stoppage to protest at the Christmas Day assassination of a Tamil legislator.

Shops and offices were shut as a mark of respect for MP Joseph Pararajasingham, 71, who was gunned down just after he received Holy Communion at a Catholic church in the eastern town of Batticaloa, residents said.

A group known as the Pongu Thamil Association had issued leaflets in the troubled regions asking residents to observe a token strike on Tuesday, said officials.

They said the group was widely believed to be a front for the Tigers.

Residents had flown black flags to protest against the killing, which the rebels blame on the government's allies and the government blames on the Tigers themselves.

81 killed in December violence

The Tamil Tigers were planning to take the legislator's coffin to the rebel-held north of the island and return it to his home in the district of Batticaloa for a burial on Thursday, said military officials.

Since his assassination, 16 people have been killed in separate clashes in the island's embattled regions.

A total of 81 people have died in violence linked to the conflict this month alone.

President Mahinda Rajapakse, who left on Tuesday to begin a state visit to neighbouring India, offered additional security to minority Tamil members of parliament before he travelled abroad.

- AFP