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Sri Lanka - LTTE

Calls for ceasefire persist

Article published on the 2009-04-18 Latest update 2009-04-18 19:29 TU

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa inspects weapons, on Thursday, which the army claim to have captured from the LTTE(Photo: Reuters)

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa inspects weapons, on Thursday, which the army claim to have captured from the LTTE
(Photo: Reuters)

Thousands of demonstrators turned out in central Paris Saturday, at the Place du Trocadero, to call for a total government ceasefire in Sri Lanka.

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The Sri Lankan army is keeping up its offensive on the remaining Tamil Tiger rebels in a north-east corner of the island.

The government of Sri Lanka accuses the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of firing heavy artillery and mortars from an area it has designated as a civilian safe-zone.

The Defence Ministry says that the troops are thus retaliating and are advancing on the area of Vellamullivailkkal.

The Sri Lankan army had announced a unilateral ceasefire last week, but it only lasted a couple of days and they say the rebels fired on them.

The United Nations has renewed a call for a new ceasefire, and for humanitarian workers to access the conflict zone, as well as for the Tamil Tiger rebels to allow civilians to move to secured zones immediately.

The government offensive is aimed at finishing off the Tamil Tiger war for independence or autonomy that has been going on for 37 years.

In Britain on Friday a man was convicted of supplying bomb-making equipment to the LTTE.

Arunchalam Crishanthakumar, also known as AC Shantan, was alleged to be the leader in Britain of the United Tamil Organisation which was banned in the UK in 2001 for being a terror organisation.