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Rebel attack in Sri Lanka
At least 21 people have been killed and more than 50 wounded in a suicide bombing and ensuing gun battle in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo. From BBC
The government said the fighting broke out when two policemen tried to check on a suspected Tamil Tiger rebel.
He was at a tea kiosk near the Ceremonial Drive that leads to the national parliament building.
The constables were killed and later one of the rebels detonated explosives strapped to his body.
Several of his colleagues exploded grenades and fired indiscriminately at vehicles trapped in the evening rush-hour traffic.
Reports said several people were caught in the cross-fire.
Police said the attackers, believed to be members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also fired rocket-propelled grenades along the highway that is used by ministers and legislators to return from parliament.
Commandos take up position in Colombo
Nimal Gunatilleke, a top police official, said he believed the attackers may have been lying in wait for Deputy Defence Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte, who had been due to take that route after a parliamentary debate.
One of the minister's advance security vehicles was hit by a grenade. The minister, who was not in the vicinity at the time of the attack, has been co-ordinating the war against the Tigers.
Security personnel gunned down two of the attackers, including a suicide bomber, and commandos defused the explosives strapped to him.
A gun battle followed as several other rebels fled the area by detonating at least four other bombs or grenades.
The government said that security forces were conducting a cordon and search operation in the area, to locate the Tigers who escaped.
Police said many of the wounded were in a critical condition in hospital, and fatalities were expected to rise.
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Tamil rebels commit suicide
Four Tamil Tiger rebels blew themselves up after being surrounded by government forces, Sri Lankan officials say.
Four soldiers were injured in the siege in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, which followed an unsuccessful guerrilla attack on a government motorcade.
Hundreds of troops surrounded an apartment complex in Colombo where a group of suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) guerrillas had hidden after staging bombings and a shooting spree on Friday.
As troops tried to flush them out with tear gas, the rebels fired rocket-propelled grenades from the fourth floor of the building, according to officials.
Several casualties were reported among troops and civilians.
Then, early on Saturday, explosions were heard in the area. Police said four rebels had blown themselves up.
Residents of the apartment complex said they could see the mutilated remains of two rebels who had died in the blast.
Suicide bombing
Parts of the capital were cordoned off as police, aided by anti-terrorist commandos, searched for those responsible for an attack on the route to the national parliament building.
The government said the fighting broke out when two policemen approached a man reported to be carrying automatic weapons.
The gunmen opened fire and one suicide bomber blew herself up.
Armed police and soldiers rushed to the area and exchanged fire with the Tigers, who were armed with rocket-propelled grenades.
At least 12 civilians, many of them trapped in their cars in a traffic jam, were killed in the crossfire.
At least 22 people were killed and more than 50 wounded.
Police said the attackers may have been lying in wait for Deputy Defence Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte, who had been due to take that route after a parliamentary debate.
One of the minister's advance security vehicles was hit by a grenade. The minister, who was not in the vicinity at the time of the attack, has been co-ordinating the war against the Tigers.
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Kumaratunga still ready for talks
Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga says she is still willing to talk to the Tamil Tiger rebels, a day after police halted an apparent assassination attempt on leading politicians.
Speaking on television, President Kumaratunga said she was determined to find a political solution to the long-running conflict, which has claimed over 55,000 lives in the past two decades.
The president herself narrowly escaped assassination in a December suicide bomb attack, which killed 26 people.
President Kumaratunga's statement came after four Tigers blew themselves up at a block of flats in eastern Colombo, following a failed attempt on Friday to ambush a motorcade.
Officials said guerrillas had apparently intended to ambush a motorcade of government ministers and senior officials - including Deputy Defence Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte - on Friday after they left parliament.
But one guerrilla blew himself up after being spotted in a Colombo street before the motorcade set out.
Twenty-three people, including 14 civilians, were left dead, as police and rebels engaged in a gun battle in crowded streets.
Amnesty International has accused the Tamil Tigers of shooting indiscriminately through busy traffic.
Some 80 people were injured.
Siege
The Tigers fled to a nearby block of flats, which were surrounded by police.
Residents at the block said the rebels had taken over a fourth-floor flat, but did not harm the family living there.
Four of the Tigers blew themselves up as commandos raided the flat and a fifth guerrilla was killed by security forces before he could detonate his suicide jacket.
Four soldiers were wounded in the raid.
At least three bodies could be seen on the balcony of the flat later on Saturday, while another dismembered body and limbs lay on the ground below.
Peace efforts
The latest attack came amid efforts to organise peace talks between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels, with Norwegian mediation.
President Kumaratunga held a meeting this week with the main opposition leader, Ranil Wickramesinghe, to discuss a proposed package which would allow more autonomy for Tamil areas of the country.
It is hoped that, once there is cross-party agreement, the Tamil Tigers can be persuaded to consider the package.
Over 55,000 people have been killed in the civil war over the past two decades.
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Arrests in Sri Lanka attack
The arrests followed two days of violence
Sri Lankan investigators have arrested six Tamils in connection with a botched attempt to ambush a ministerial motorcade which left at least 23 people dead.
Police detained the suspects after recovering documents from suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bombers involved in the attack.
State-run radio said officials of the Colombo Crime Detection Bureau were questioning the six, who had travelled to the capital from the war-torn north.
Officials said the guerrillas had apparently intended to ambush a motorcade of government ministers and senior officials - including Deputy Defence Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte - on Friday after they left parliament.
But one guerrilla blew himself up after being spotted in a Colombo street before the motorcade set out.
Twenty-three people, including 14 civilians, died as police and rebels engaged in a gun battle in crowded streets. Some 80 people were injured.
Amnesty International accused the Tamil Tigers of shooting indiscriminately.
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From BBC website
Situation Report
The deadly dusk-to-dawn drama
Attired in what looked like security forces uni
forms from a distance, the group of Tiger guerrillas,
estimated to be around ten, drew little attenti
on as they lay in ambush. It was near the roundabout
at Castle Street, parallel to Cotta Road, just
opposite the Ayurveda Hospital at Rajagiriya.
The streets were clogged with traffic, mostly o
ffice workers, returning to their homes on Friday
evening. Dusk was setting in. In a brazen move,
they had placed two claymore mines in the
direction of the road, virtually under the nose
of policemen who were on duty almost every 100
metres. They had pulled them out from long bags
, the types used to carry cricket gear.
Around 5.40 p.m. Rohitha Cooray had arrived to
check on his house nearby. It was not occupied
during nights though his wife conducted English
classes for young children during mornings. As he
entered, he observed some suspicious looking pe
rsons inside. He walked to a relative next door to
complain about the men. The lady there did not
think there was anything serious. She said they
must be some "kudu karayo" or drug addicts. But
Mr. Cooray was not satisfied with that answer.
So he walked up to the checkpoint just near the
Royal Park junction to alert the Policemen. Three
of them picked up their weapons and rushed towa
rds the house to check on what they have been
told. A Tiger guerrilla who saw them coming mow
ed down one after another with a T-56 rifle. All
three dropped dead.
For the LTTE group that had successfully infilt
rated the security cordon around Parliament, that is
where things began to sour. The firing had alerted other policemen assign
ed for duty along Castle Street and beyond. Parliament was
in session and a debate on the customary monthly extension of the State o
f Emergency was part of business. In addition, the votes of
the Ministry of Defence were being debated at the Committee stage. Servic
e Chiefs and the IGP accompanied by their senior officers
were in the House.
Quite clearly, Cabinet Ministers, top defence officials, heads of securit
y forces, Police and even Parliamentarians were targets of the
LTTE's group. But the cold blooded killing of the three Policemen had rai
sed hell.
A Jeep load of commandos from the Police Special Task Force (STF) moved i
n from a command post nearby to encounter the group.
One of the guerrillas who had an explosive laden suicide jacket strapped
to his chest, ran along Castle Street, in the direction of
Parliament and detonated himself. He was blown to pieces.
His severed head lay a few feet away from the statue of the late Dr. N.M.
Perera. The commandos opened out with their M-16
assault rifles. Two guerrillas dropped dead. The explosion of two claymor
e mines, placed to take on convoys of VIPs or security
forces top brass, were exploded. It caused damage to sign boards 50 metre
s away. The rebels then fired two Light Anti-tank
Weapons (LAW) to divert heavy gunfire they were attracting from troops an
d the police.
Office workers returning in a Dolphin van were hit by the fire and died o
n the spot. So were some in a bus and other passers by. Yet
others hugged the ground and remained motionless until the firefight, whi
ch lasted for well over an hour, ended. Residents in the area
fled their homes leaving them wide open. Some returned later but other ho
uses remained abandoned as police and troops went on a
house to house search.
Coming under pressure, at least six guerrillas proceeded along Castle Str
eet upto the level crossing . They walked along the rail track
to Wanathamulla. Hardly half an hour later, six of them had holed themsel
ves up in the third floor of Serpentine Flats at Serpentine
Road. They had reached the area by firing their way through and causing p
anic among the dwellers. Army and Police units
surrounded the building as Operations Commander, Colombo, Major General N
ihal Marambe, put together an operation for a
commando assault.
Shortly before midnight, a Sri Lanka Air Force Mi-17 helicopter ferried a
group of heavily armed commandos from the Bandaranaike
International Airport. They were part of a specialised group trained in a
nti hijack and hostage rescue techniques. It was not until 5.20
am last morning that they went into action. By then, only the ground floo
r dwellers of the flats were evacuated. Others on the three
other floors were unable to move out for fear of attack by the guerrillas
.
Five commando teams moved in. They were made up of four man specialist te
ams. There were three assault teams, a sniper group
and a gas team. Soon after they moved in, a member of the sniper team sho
t one of the guerrillas dead. Moments later, loud explosions
ren`ted the air. The guerrillas, who wore suicide jackets, had exploded t
hemselves. What remained of their bodies were skulls and
pieces of flesh. Four commandos were injured, one of them critically. It
turned out that the remaining four guerrillas committed suicide.
Two civilian flat dwellers were also killed in the commando operation.
Commandos found a General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), two Multi Purpose M
achine Guns (MPMG), two Light Anti-tank
Weapons (LAW), two T-56 assault rifles and three 40 mm grenades (Tomba).
As dawn broke, troops cleared the building of its dwellers and carried ou
t a thorough check. Later in the day, the dwellers were
allowed to get back after the Army gave an all clear signal.
When they abandoned their ambush at the Castle Street roundabout, the gue
rrillas had also left behind some of the hardware they
smuggled into the City for their assault. Among them were three Light Ant
i-tank Weapons, two large sized bags (like the ones used to
carry cricketing gear), two empty shells of LAW and two empty shells of 4
0 mm grenades.
As the mayhem ended, at least 23 were killed. That included six policemen
and three guerrillas. More than 48 were injured.
Sunday Times
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Victim List
Colombo Terror Victims
The list of the civilians and policemen killed in Friday's explosions a
nd gun battle:
- M.B. Maldeniya (46) - City Traffic, 5 S Police Quarters, Borella
-
Y. Wickremasena (34)- Borella police, Siri Housing Scheme, Maipana, Badalga
muwa
- J.M. Jayasundara(22) - Divulpitiya Police, Godakawela, Sannagamuw
a, Ratnapura
- L.G. Dayaratne (30)- Borella Police, 31 Danwela, Galigamu
wa
- H.M. Perera - Kirilapone police
- G.A. Dharmasena (42)- Alpitiya
Police, Kimbulawela, Makthaka, Pitipana
- R.M.Lakmini Vineetha (37) Ban
daragama Police
- Saman Gunawardene (37), 146 Kotubamma Road, Etul Kott
e, Kotte
- H.D.B. Perera (70), P9 Block F, Bambalapitiya Flats, Colombo
04
- Rukshan Asanka Perera (23), 192/1 Sriyama Mawatha, Kandalanda, Homa
gama
- Achini Dunuwille (27) 593/40 Gabadawatte, 3rd Lane, Pitipatha, H
omagama
- H.G. Wasantha Kumari (25), 26/5 3rd Lane, Manana Road, Gangoda
wila, Nugegoda
- Mangalika Wickremasinghe (35), 593/1 Gabadawatte, No. 3
South Pitipana, Homagama
- Thilak Balasuriya (60) 51, Sunethradevi Lane, Kohuwela
- Damayanthi
Premaratne (23), Galabadawatte, Homagama
- D.Sumanasena Rupasinghe (69)
20/3 Railway Avenue, Nugegoda
- K.G. Sarath Wijesighe (39) 553/12 Bokund
ara Road, West Arauwalla, Pannipitiya
- Udeni Samanthika Dayananda (27),
262/A 2nd Lane, Shanthipura, Thalawathugoa
- A.H. Somadasa (55), 424/A
Welipara, Thalawathugoda
- N Renuka Upasena, 563/3 Nawala Road, Rajagiri
ya
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Opdateret d. 13/3/00
