Tamil Tigers attack using aircraft again
April 29th, 2007 by ashish
In a sign that the Tamil Tigers continue with their campaign of terror attacks from the air, they used their aircraft to bomb 2 fuel installations. This air attack did not cause too much damage, but it is a sign that the escalation that the Tamil Tigers caused by using aircraft is not going away too soon.
These aircraft were reportedly smuggled in by the LTTE using their ships, and then assembled in rebel bases. They are light aircraft, but are capable of carrying bombs, and in the past, they have used them to attack the army. However, this latest attack is more of an attack on an economic target, and is potentially capable of causing more damage. Refer this CNN report:
The Tamil Tiger rebel group has claimed responsibility for the Saturday bombing of two fuel installations that prompted heavy security, a two-hour blackout in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, and disrupted activity at its airport.
“These oil installations at Muthurajawela and Kolonnawa are supplying fuel to the security forces, particularly the air force,” spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiriyan told CNN via satellite telephone from the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi in northern Sri Lanka.
At least five people, including three soldiers, were injured and hospitalized in the incident, and the Sri Lanka air force launched retaliatory strikes against rebel targets in the northern Wanni region.
Fears of an air attack triggered a blackout in Colombo on Thursday and forced its international airport to temporarily shut down. Government officials had said the Sri Lanka air force received reports of three unidentified aircraft, believed to belong to Tamil Tiger rebels, flying over the town of Puttalam.
The ceasefire is well and truly dead, and this is a shame. The fighting between the rebels and the government has been ongoing for decades, with no one side being able to do anything more other than cause civilian casualties. These latest attacks bring back memories of previous other conflicts where civilians bear the brunt. In this case, civilians bearing blackouts and getting injured or dying in bomb attacks remains the paramount concern.
Both the Government and the Tamil Parties (not only the LTTE) need to see in what way they can bring down these escalations, and bring about a period of comparative peace where they can discuss a solution through peaceful talks rather than this endless conflicts.
