Sri Lanka ends combat operations

July 28th, 2009 COLOMBO - Bharti Airtel Lanka, a subsidiary of India's telecom major Bharti Airtel, Tuesday said it has crossed the one million customer-mark in Sri Lanka. The company has achieved this milestone within six months of the launch of its services in the island country.

April 30th, 2009 COLOMBO - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has declared that 'humanitarian operations' by the military to rescue civilians held hostage by Tamil rebels will continue unabated, a state-run newspaper said Thursday. Rajapaksa made clear his government's position in a meeting with visiting British Foreign Minister David Miliband and his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner, who reiterated calls by the European Union for a truce between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to allow civilians trapped in the conflict zone in north-eastern Sri Lanka to flee.

April 29th, 2009 COLOMBO - The foreign ministers of Britain and France were Wednesday set to visit thousands of displaced people in northern Sri Lanka, while government officials said the army was concentrating on rescuing civilians trapped in the last remaining area held by Tamil rebels. British Foreign Minister David Miliband and his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner are to meet Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, President Mahinda Rajapaksa before visiting refugee camps in the Vavuniya area, 254 km north of Colombo.

April 28th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India has reiterated that Sri Lanka capture Tamil Tigers chief Velupillai Prabhakaran alive and extradite him to India, sources in the external affairs ministry said Tuesday. 'India will continue to request that Prabhakaran be caught alive,' a ministry source said.

April 28th, 2009 STOCKHOLM - Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt Tuesday said he cancelled the trip he had planned to take to Sri Lanka along with his British and French counterparts after Colombo said it would not receive him. Writing on his blog, Bildt said Sri Lanka had 'not given any reason' for not accepting him.

April 28th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India has not provided any help to the Sri Lankan Army that could assist them in the military operations against the Tamil Tigers in the island nation, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Tuesday.

April 27th, 2009 COLOMBO - Sri Lanka Monday flatly rejected reports of making a ceasefire offer and said that the 'media illusionists' have twisted the government statement on its decision 'to stop using heavy guns, aerial weapons and combat aircraft' in operations in the north to ensure the safety of civilians. The defence ministry said the troops will continue with 'the humanitarian operations to rescue the remaining 15,000-20,000 people held hostage by LTTE' while avoiding the use of heavy calibre weaponry as a strict measure 'coinciding with its zero civilian casualty policy'.

April 27th, 2009 COLOMBO - Amid mounting concern over civilian suffering, Sri Lanka Monday announced that 'combat operations' against the Tamil Tigers had concluded and clarified that this did not amount to a ceasefire though it would stop using aircraft and heavy weapons. The government ordered its security forces to stop using 'heavy guns, aerial weapons and combat aircraft' that have allegedly caused thousands of deaths.

April 27th, 2009 LUXEMBOURG - Three European Union foreign ministers are planning an urgent mission to Sri Lanka amidst concerns for the safety of civilians trapped by the fighting, diplomats announced Monday as the bloc called for an immediate ceasefire. The foreign ministers of Britain, France and Sweden, David Miliband, Bernard Kouchner and Carl Bildt respectively, are to fly to the embattled country Wednesday in a bid to win safety for civilians caught between government and rebel forces.

April 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Congress party Monday insisted that Sri Lanka did not call off 'combat operations' against the Tamil Tigers due to Indian pressure, and instead credited the move to 'world opinion'. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the Sri Lankan decision followed 'collective world opinion in which India was in the vanguard'.

April 27th, 2009 COLOMBO - Amid mounting global concern over civilian suffering, Sri Lanka Monday announced that it was ending combat operations against the Tamil Tigers in a bid to end the deaths of non-combatants. The government ordered its security forces to stop using 'heavy guns, aerial weapons and combat aircraft' that have allegedly caused thousands of deaths.

April 27th, 2009 CHENNAI/COLOMBO - Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi ended Monday a hunger strike in support of a ceasefire in Sri Lanka after Colombo said it was ending 'combat operations' against the Tamil Tigers.

April 27th, 2009 CHENNAI - AIADMK chief Jayalalitha Monday reiterated her demand for an independent Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka, even as Colombo announced the end of its combat operations against the Tamil Tigers and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi called off his fast.

April 27th, 2009 COLOMBO - The Sri Lankan government Monday announced that its combat operations against the Tamil Tigers had ended. Amid mounting international concern for the plight of civilians in the island's war-zone, a statement from the presidential secretariat said security forces had been ordered to stop using 'heavy guns, aerial weapons and combat aircraft' and rescue civilians.

February 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Indian government Thursday voiced 'deep concern' over the situation in Sri Lanka and called upon both Colombo and the Tamil Tigers to end their hostilities. Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting earlier in the day, Home Minister P.