Sri Lanka says sinks three rebel boats near capital
Source: Reuters
(Updates with three suspected Tigers captured) COLOMBO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's navy sank three suspected Tamil Tiger craft off the capital's main harbour early on Saturday, and a large blast aboard one suggested it was an explosives-packed suicide vessel, the military said. Navy fast-attack boats sank one of the small fibreglass boats six nautical miles from Colombo harbour, the island's main cargo hub, and chased two others out to sea, sinking them as well, officials said. It was not clear how many people were aboard the boats, but a Navy search team later found three suspected Tigers alive in the sea and were interrogating them. The military had earlier said it believed all those aboard had died. "We suspect they came to attack naval boats to create panic," said military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe. "Given the explosion, there must have been a lot of explosives aboard. It must have been a suicide boat." "The Tigers have been losing ground in the east, so they want to (prove) something here too," he said. Samarasinghe said doors of several cargo containers aboard a nearby merchant ship had opened apparently due to the explosion, their contents spilling onto the deck. The ship was fine. The Tigers were not available for comment. The incident, around 125 miles (200 km) south of the rebels' nearest coastal territory, comes as analysts fear a new chapter in a two-decade civil war. More than 67,000 people have died in the conflict since 1983. Emboldened by the capture of a key Tamil Tiger stronghold in the east, Sri Lanka has vowed to go on the offensive to destroy the rebels' entire military machine in the apparent belief it can finally win the war. But observers expect the Tigers to hit back. Analysts say the government and military are underestimating the rebels, and they expect the conflict to deepen.
| AlertNet news is provided by |  |
