Independence day bomb attacks kill 13 in Sri Lanka
By Frances Bulathsinghala
COLOMBO, Feb 4: Tamil Tiger rebels killed 13 people with two roadside bombs on Monday, just hours after the government celebrated the island’s 60th anniversary of independence with a parade of military might in the capital.
At least a dozen people were killed and 20 hospitalised in a rebel bombing of a civilian bus in the north-eastern town of Weli-Oya.
Weli Oya is about 200 kilometres from Colombo and hosts a major military base, wedged between government-controlled Vavuniya district and rebel-controlled Mullativu district.
A soldier also died and three others wounded when their tractor was blown up by a bomb near the southeastern town of Buttala, officials said.
The main opposition, the United National Party (UNP), the minority Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) did not attend the independence day function.
All three parties had been invited to attend the main ceremony held at the Galle Face promenade in Colombo. The pro-rebel Tamil National Alliance (TNA) was not invited.
The Independence Day celebrations which had a military parade but not a march past took place with fresh pledges from President Mahinda Rajapakse to free the north from the LTTE.
The president, promising a speedy annihilation of the Tiger guerrilla force, made an appeal to the public to bear up the present situation of heightened terror attacks by the rebels which he claimed was only a temporary impediment to the country’s progress.
In the afternoon, at least one soldier was killed and three others wounded when a military vehicle struck a mine in the southern area of Buttala, military sources said.
According to reports, the guerrillas opened fire on the vehicle after it struck the mine along the Buttala-Kataragama road, 240 kilometers southeast of Colombo. Kataragama is a pilgrimage centre revered by both Tamils and Sinhalese.
The LTTE claimed to have attacked a military camp in Bakmityawa in the Ampara district on Monday. No casualties have been reported.
Meanwhile, military officials said police found a parcel containing one kilogramme of C4 explosives in a Colombo locality on Sunday night and defused it.
COLOMBO, Feb 4: Tamil Tiger rebels killed 13 people with two roadside bombs on Monday, just hours after the government celebrated the island’s 60th anniversary of independence with a parade of military might in the capital.
