Sri Lanka’s 26-year war ends as LTTE leader Prabhakaran killed

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka’s 26-year-long insurgency ended with a blaze of bullets as Velupillai Prabhakaran, the dreaded chief of the Tamil Tigers that was responsible for assassinating Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and several leaders of the island nation, was killed Monday while trying to flee the battle zone.

Sri Lanka declares end of war against LTTE after killing Prabhakaran

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka on Monday formally announced the end of war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam after chief V Prabhakaran was shot dead while trying to flee in an ambulance from the war zone in northern Sri Lanka.

India to provide relief to those affected in Sri Lankan conflict

NEW DELHI - External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday called up Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and assured him of providing relief to those affected by the tragic conflict between the Lankan Army and the Tamil Tigers.

Sri Lankan military takes last stretch of LTTE-held coast

COLOMBO - Sri Lankan military Saturday took the final strip of coast held by Tamil Tigers during their offensive to defeat the guerrillas and end the more than 25-year conflict, military officials said.

Sri Lanka captures last stretch of rebel-held coast

COLOMBO - The Sri Lankan security forces Saturday took the final strip of coast held by Tamil Tigers during the final phase of their offensive to defeat the guerrillas, a military official said.

Health official says at least 50 civilians killed in shelling of Sri Lankan hospital

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Shells hit the only hospital in Sri Lanka’s northern war zone Wednesday, killing at least 50 people in the second such attack in two days, a doctor said. Medics at the makeshift facility said they were using brief lulls between explosions to tend to patients but had little to offer beyond gauze and bandages.

Rajapaksa asks civilians to cross over to government areas

COLOMBO - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa Friday appealed to thousands of Tamil civilians trapped in Tamil Tigers-held no-fire zone in the country’s northeast to cross over to areas controlled by the government.

Rajapaksa rules out truce with Tamil Tigers

COLOMBO - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa Thursday ruled out halting the fight-to-finish military campaign against the Tamil Tigers and said the time was running out for the rebels to surrender.

British, French foreign ministers hold talks with Rajapaksa

COLOMBO - The visiting foreign ministers of Britain and France Wednesday discussed with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa the humanitarian situation in the island’s north, where troops are battling the Tamil Tigers in a small strip of land.

2 Sri Lankan rebel officials surrender to troops as thousands of civilians flee fighting

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Two Tamil Tiger officials surrendered to the Sri Lankan army on Wednesday, and refugees joined a stream of more than 80,000 people the government says have fled a war zone that appeared to shrink by the hour.

Two LTTE leaders surrender, 95,000 flee war zone

COLOMBO - Two second-rung leaders of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have surrendered to the Sri Lankan military as the number of civilians fleeing the no-fire-zone in the rebel-held area rose to 95,000, a military spokesman said Wednesday.

Congress favours ‘cessation of hostility’ in Sri Lanka

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.

Tamil protesters in London call for Sri Lanka ceasefire

LONDON - Hundreds of Tamils Tuesday protested outside the parliament in London demanding an immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka and an end to alleged human rights abuses by the government in its offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels.

PMK to contest seven Lok Sabha seats

CHENNAI - AIADMK leader J. Jayalalitha Saturday announced a seat-sharing pact with the PMK for the Lok Sabha election, giving it six seats in Tamil Nadu and one in nearby Puducherry and describing her larger alliance as ‘an unbeatable winning combination’.

Sri Lanka declares new ‘no fire zone’ for civilians

COLOMBO - Sri Lankan military Thursday declared a new ‘Civilian Safety Zone’ (CSZ), saying it was in response ‘to the worsening plight of thousands of civilians held hostage’ by the Tamil Tigers in the north-eastern Mullaitivu district.

India asks Sri Lanka, LTTE to stop fighting

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.

Sri Lanka troops capture LTTE’s last airstrip in Mullaitivu

COLOMBO - Sri Lankan troops Tuesday captured the last airstrip of the Tamil Tigers at Sundarapuram in the northeastern Mullaitivu district, defence authorities here said.

Hundreds of dead civilians piling up in Sri Lanka war

NEW DELHI - Hundreds of Tamil civilians, including children, have been killed and wounded in Sri Lanka’s war against the Tamil Tigers, international relief agencies say, with some calling it a humanitarian crisis.

LTTE garrison town captured by army: Sri Lanka

COLOMBO - Sri Lankan troops early Thursday captured the strategically important Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) garrison town of Paranthan, which is close to the rebel group’s political hub of Kilinochchi, the defence ministry said in a statement issued here.