Sri Lankan troops enter no fire zone: Radio

May 8th, 2009 COLOMBO - The Sri Lankan military has shrunk a 'safety zone' for civilians in the northeastern part of the island where government troops are continuing their operations to rescue thousands of civilians, the defence ministry said Friday. The zone has now been shrunk to an area of 2.5 square kilometres in the coastal area of the Mullaitivu district, 395 km northeast of Colombo.

May 7th, 2009 COLOMBO - Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday ruled out any possibility of a cease-fire with the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE), adding that such step would be redundant as the latter would use the opportunity to rearm once again. Addressing the diplomatic community in the Sri Lankan capital, Rajapaksa said that government troops are readying for a final assault on the LTTE, which he said was trapped along with its chief V.

May 5th, 2009 COLOMBO - Tamil Tigers chief Velupillai Prabhakaran is trapped in a small coastal strip, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake said Tuesday. He also told parliament that there would not be any let up in the military campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) despite persisting international pressure for a pause in fighting.

April 25th, 2009 Rebels warn of starvation in Sri LankaCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The Tamil Tiger rebels say that tens of thousands of civilians trapped in Sri Lanka's northern war zone are at imminent risk of starvation. The rebels said in a statement Saturday that food stocks in the northeastern war zone had dwindled and urged the international community to push the government to allow food shipments to enter.

April 21st, 2009 NEW YORK - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon Monday welcomed the escape of at least 35,000 civilians from the Tamil rebel-held areas in northeastern Sri Lanka. But Ban said he was worried about the fate of civilians who remain in the conflict zone and the continuing potential for a blood bath.

April 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Congress party Tuesday urged the Sri Lankan government to ensure 'cessation of hostility' in the island nation and allow Tamil civilians to move out of the conflict zone. 'The Congress is deeply concerned about the fate of innocent Sri Lankan Tamils.

April 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI/PATNA - With the Sri Lankan Army stepping up offensive against the LTTE that has vowed never to surrender, India Tuesday conveyed its concerns and appealed to Colombo to ensure the safe exit of thousands of civilians trapped in the war zone. 'I have appealed to the Sri Lankan authorities to facilitate the return of civilians to a secure zone,' External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters in Patna.

April 12th, 2009 COLOMBO - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, who is said to be facing a military rout at the hands of the government troops, has 'agreed to a rescue mission by a western country', a state-run media report said Sunday. The report comes a week after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) lost the cream of its fighting cadre, including a dozen battle-hardened leaders in the fight for Puthukkudiyiruppu.

April 10th, 2009 COLOMBO - Sri Lankan troops have launched 'the world's largest humanitarian operation' to rescue thousands of civilians trapped in the government-declared no-fire-zone after seizing control of the last rebel bastion in the north, the defence ministry said Friday. It said the troops have 'almost swept away terrorist strongholds in the northern anterior of the 12-km-long no-fire-zone demarcated for the civilians' and were conducting mop-up operations in the southern anterior of the no-fire-zone (NFZ).

April 6th, 2009 COLOMBO - Sri Lankan Government troops have said that they are in no hurry to storm a safe zone to pursue Tamil Tiger rebels in the north-east. The country's defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapakse said: "We have no plans of going into the safe zone immediately.

April 5th, 2009 COLOMBO - The military campaign against the Tamil Tigers was about to end, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said Sunday and urged the rebel leadership to let free thousands of civilians and surrender to the security forces to avoid total annihilation. Speaking to his party supporters at his tightly guarded Temple Trees residence, Rajapaksa said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), unable to face the military thrust, was now hiding in the no-fire-zone, holding thousands of innocent civilians as human shield.

April 5th, 2009 COLOMBO - Fighting the Tamil Tigers in their last bastion, Sri Lankan troops Sunday captured the Puthukkudiyiruppu area, killing over 420 guerrillas in three days of fighting, the military said. The 53 and 58 divisions of the Sri Lankan Army also inflicted heavy damage on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Mullaitivu district, military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.

February 24th, 2009 COLOMBO - Sri Lankan troops have entered Puthukuduyiruppu town held by Tamil Tigers, local media reported Tuesday morning. Puthukuduyiruppu was the last town held by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam guerrillas in the northern Mullaittivu district.

January 24th, 2009 COLOMBO - Sri Lankan troops Sunday entered Mullaitivu town, the last stronghold of the Tamil Tigers, an army official said.

January 24th, 2009 COLOMBO - Sri Lankan troops Sunday entered Mullaitivu town, the last stronghold of the Tamil Tigers, despite heavy resistance, an army official said. 'Troops of the 59 Division entered Mullaitivu town area from the northern end.