Word: ltte
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...understand how far the LTTE has fallen, consider the situation just three years ago, when an internationally brokered ceasefire collapsed: At that point, the rebels controlled around 5,800 square miles (15,000 sq. km.) of territory in a mini-state in the island nation's north and east. They had a navy composed of a flotilla of gunboats and transports, and even launched daring strikes on Colombo with their own makeshift airforce. But a sustained government offensive has inflicted defeat after defeat, and that, in turn, has prompted widespread desertions. Today, just over 1,000 fighters, including the LTTE...
...Lankan military denied shelling any hospitals, and has blamed the LTTE for civilian casualties. The government said Monday that the military campaign was in a "decisive stage", and that it could not "be responsible for the safety and security of civilians still living among LTTE terrorists". Colombo claims the rebels trap civilians in order to use them as human shields. Although the government has demarcated a safe zone north of Mullaittivu, it's unclear how non-combatants might be able to reach the sanctuary. While aid agencies clamor for access to those displaced, neither they nor most journalists have been...
...Having brought the LTTE insurgency to the verge of collapse is a triumph for President Rajapaksa, who has revitalized the Sri Lankan armed forces through a massive injection of funds that has boosted everything from tactical capability to morale. Some 20% of the nation's budget is now devoted to military spending (6% of its GDP), and the boost in resources has, over the past nine months, helped the military make steady gains against what had once seemed intractable positions held by the rebels. Some have taken Colombo's example as a message for counterinsurgency efforts elsewhere...
...LTTE's guerrilla campaign, and its terrorism - which included assassinations, and suicide bombings by militants wearing explosives on their bodies, a tactic pioneered by the movement - aimed at securing an independent state for Sri Lanka's minority Hindu and Christian Tamils, who still face discrimination at the hands of the country's mostly Buddhist Sinhalese majority. More than two decades of conflict have led to allegations of atrocities on both sides - from kidnappings and extrajudicial killings to the recruitment of child soldiers. Various rounds of peace talks, the last held in 2002, failed to reconcile the LTTE with the government...
...Lanka's murky politics have little to do with its offensive against the LTTE, says Rajiva Wijesinha, who heads up the government agency charged with bringing about a lasting political settlement to the conflict. "After so many years of war, there has been a corrosion of the state," he admits, "but [in this campaign] we have abided by the rules and taken care of our civilians." Once the LTTE is quashed, Wijesinha envisions elections being held in the north and a gradual devolution of power to Tamils who have joined in the peace process. The Indian government, whose ruling coalition...