- Title: SRI LANKA: Peace talks deadline passes amid Sri Lanka violence
- Date: 23rd April 2006
- Summary: DEAD SOLDIERS, IN HOSPITAL, SOLDIERS GATHERING ROUND (6 SHOTS)
- Embargoed: 8th May 2006 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Sri Lanka
- Country: Sri Lanka
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAD8KN8HG4NU4ZUUYS4YTB0OA7E
- Story Text: On Saturday (April 22), a claymore mine explosion near the northern town of Vavuniya killed a soldier on foot patrol, the army said. Another claymore ambush in the east killed an army officer and wounded six soldiers.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) initially pulled out of the Geneva talks because of a dispute over how to transport commanders to their northern headquarters for consultations.
The government said it agreed to a new, Norwegian-brokered proposal, but was still awaiting a response from the rebels.
It was too late for talks set for April 24-25 in Geneva to go ahead as scheduled, said the head of the government's body for co-ordinating the peace process.
Mine attacks and political murders have become daily events in the past two weeks, killing at least 90, straining a 2002 truce to the breaking point and raising fears of a renewed civil war over Tiger demands for a separate Tamil state.
The government initially agreed to offer the Tigers a 5-seater civilian helicopter to transport commanders for internal meetings the rebels say must take place before they can come to talks. The government was now offering a 10-seater helicopter. There was no immediate word on the Tigers' response, but on Saturday they said civilian aircraft were a security risk and they wanted a military craft or permission to use a boat belonging to their Sea Tigers naval unit.
Late on Saturday, a policeman in the northeastern area of Trincomalee was seriously wounded by a hand grenade lobbed at the police post. In the same area a group of army and air force personnel came under a second grenade attack on Sunday morning. No one was injured, the army said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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