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SLMM warns of escalation of violence | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The international ceasefire monitors in Sri Lanka have urged Tamil Tigers to cooperate with them and the government in their investigations on an attack on a navy boat off Kalpitiya. Strongly condemning the attack, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), said it is hard to rule out LTTE hand on the incident happened on Saturday, though the Tamil Tigers have denied any involvement. “Based on SLMM’s previous experience during the period of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) we feel that we cannot at this stage rule out their involvement,” a statement issued on Sunday said. Escalation of violence Six Tamil Tiger rebels have died after blowing up their vessel off Sri Lanka's north-west coast, according to the military.
The blast came as the navy approached the rebel boat which was suspected of gun-running, a military spokesman said. Eight sailors are missing, while 11 others were rescued. The navy gunboat was also destroyed in the explosion. The truce monitors have warned of an escalation of violence in eastern Sri Lanka over recent weeks. Though the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) repeatedly deny any link with the paramilitary groups in the east, the SLMM said, their experience do not substantiate with the SLA denial. Paramilitaries “Based on SLMM’s monitoring activities and experience on the ground the Mission does not share this view,” the statement added.
SLA spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe, in an interview with BBC Sandeshaya on Sunday, repeated the GoSL claim that the government has no knowledge of paramilitaries. However, the monitors urged the government to take the matter seriously and not close their eyes to armed elements “that are to our knowledge still operating” in government-held areas. The SLMM urged both parties to the conflict to refrain from provocative acts and live up to the commitments made at Geneva talks in February this year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Based on SLMM’s previous experience during the period of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) we feel that we cannot at this stage rule out their (LTTE) involvement
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