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Sri Lankan rebel implies failed peace talks could bring all-out war; dynamite seized
Associated Press,
Thu February 16, 2006 09:03 EST .
DILIP GANGULY - Associated Press Writer - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) A top Tamil Tiger leader said Thursday the rebel group is committed to a four-year-old cease-fire, but implied that all-out war could occur if upcoming peace talks with the Sri Lankan government in Geneva fail. Meanwhile, rival rebels factions clashed in eastern Sri Lanka - , killing one combatant and wounding two others, police said. The latest fighting took place in areas controlled by the mainstream rebel group in Batticaloa district, according to police. Also Thursday, Sri Lankan police said they found 300 dynamite sticks on two passenger buses in the country's northwest. Three passengers were arrested for possessing the dynamite, a type used mostly in the construction and mining industries, the official said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media. The buses were bound for the northwestern town of Mannar, 220 kilometers north of Sri Lanka - 's capital, Colombo, the official said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media. The official offered no further details. The Tigers accuse the government of backing a breakaway faction and want the Colombo administration to disarm that group before proceeding further with the peace talks. ``Every day there are human rights violations of the Tamils by Sri Lankan military and groups backed by them,'' Puleedevan said, adding that 120 Tamil civilians have been killed and 55 missing since January. The government denies backing the splinter group and in turn blames the rebels for many of the killings, including 81 soldiers killed since Dec. 4, when new violence flared up in the northeast. The rebel movement split in 2004 when an eastern-based military commander, named Karuna, broke away with 6,000 fighters. The rebellion was suppressed by the mainstream rebels, but Karuna and several fighters managed to escape and are known to operate in eastern Sri Lanka - . The Tamil Tigers in 1983 launched a violent campaign to create a separate state for ethnic minority Tamils in the northeast, accusing the majority Sinhalese of discrimination. The civil war killed 65,000 people before the cease-fire was signed. The truce has come under severe strain due to escalating violence. Associated Press writer Bharatha Mallawarachi contributed to this report.
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Published: Thu Feb 16 09:25:50 EST 2006
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