Sri Lanka Fighting Escalates as Tamil Tigers Say Cease-Fire is Dead

In Sri Lanka, regional leaders from the Tamil Tiger guerrilla group say a cease-fire with the government is dead, and the country's civil war has resumed. Government officials say they remain committed to the truce, despite government forces making their first attempt to regain territory from the rebels since that cease-fire was signed in 2002.


Tamil Tiger rebel takes position bunker at base in undisclosed location in northern Sri Lanka
The Tamil Tigers say they are close to launching retaliatory attacks against government forces, which have tried to seize rebel territory in violation of the cease-fire.

On Sunday, the Sri Lankan army moved into rebel territory in Trincomalee district in the northeast. It was the first time, peace monitors say, that the government has tried to take rebel-held territory since the cease-fire was signed four years ago.

Thorfinnur Omarsson is a spokesman for the European cease-fire monitors. He said the rebel group, also known as the LTTE, sent a letter to the monitors early Monday declaring that they may strike back at government forces.

"They put the responsibility on the government side, he said. "They say that if the attacks from the air and from the ground from the government sources continue, the LTTE will have no option but to retaliate. That's their standpoint."

Officials in the capital Colombo say the offensive aimed to take control of an irrigation channel that the rebels had blocked, to keep water from flowing to government-held land. Four days of air strikes preceded the offensive.

The government and the Tamil Tigers signed a cease-fire in 2002 to end two decades of ethnic war. The rebels had demanded independence for areas in the north and east of the country where the Tamil minority is predominant.

For months, the cease-fire has been slowly unraveling. The rebels are accused of placing land mines on roads and dispatching suicide bombers to Colombo, while the government has used air strikes on rebel territory.

Many political analysts and combatants on both sides say the cease-fire exists in name only.

Mr. Omarrson says the letter from the Tamil Tigers' senior leadership said nothing about dropping their commitment to the cease-fire. But regional commanders have been declaring the ceasefire to be over for weeks.

Elilan is the alias used by the Tamil Tigers political chief in Trincomalee district. He spoke to VOA several weeks ago.

He says the cease-fire is only limited to a piece of paper. The real situation is that there is war. He says that whatever was happening during the war years, it is happening now.

The government has said it remains committed to the cease-fire. It says the air strike Sunday was to open the irrigation channel for humanitarian reasons.

Mr. Omarsson says Norway is expected to send a special peace envoy to Sri Lanka later this week, to meet with rebels and government officials.

The envoy is expected to ask the rebels to lift their order that cease-fire monitors from European Union countries leave the country - a demand they made after the EU listed the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist organization.

Israeli minister says airstrike suspension not end of offensive

Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon said on Monday that a 48-hour suspension of Israeli aerial bombardments on south Lebanon did not mean the war was about to end, local newspaper Ha'aretz reported.

"This (suspension) decision will allow us to continue the war over time and it will take off some of the political pressure, so I am sure this is the right decision for now. It is not stopping the war," Ramon told Israel's Army Radio.

He warned at the same time that Israel would mount attacks if Hezbollah guerillas tried to take advantage of the ceasefire and bring in weapons.

"If there is an attempt to take advantage of the ceasefire and return weapons through passages in the Lebanese-Syrian border, this ceasefire in this case will not apply to such an chance," Ramon said.

The Israeli minister made the comments after Israel announced a 48-hour suspension of airstrikes on south Lebanon on early Monday following a deadly air raid against the Lebanese southern village Qana, which killed over 50 civilians.

The attack, the deadliest since the violence broke out nearly three weeks ago, sparked worldwide demands for truce in Lebanon.

Visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice welcomed the Israeli suspension of strikes and voiced optimism of hammering out a ceasefire to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon this week.

The top U.S. diplomat held two rounds of talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday and headed back to Washington on Monday morning.

Rice, who returned to Israel on Saturday in her second tour to the Mideast region in a week, cancelled a scheduled visit to Beirut on Sunday after the Israeli air raid on Qana.

Israel expressed "deep regret" for the deaths in Qana and said it would investigate the incident, which drew widespread international condemnation.

But Olmert said on Sunday that Qana was used as a Hezbollah base for launching hundreds of rockets at Israel and that he told Rice Israel needed 10-14 days to finish the ongoing conflict.

Violence between Israel and Hezbollah entered the 20th day on Monday since it started on July 12 following the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas.

Source: Xinhua

Heavy Israeli toll in fierce fighting

Israel's army suffered heavy casualties in a battle with Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon on Wednesday and Al Jazeera Television said at least nine soldiers had been killed.

Al Arabiya Television said 12 were killed during fierce clashes in the town of Bint Jbeil, a key militia stronghold 4 kilometres in Lebanon. The stations gave no further details.

Such a toll would be the heaviest for Israel's army since it launched an offensive against Hezbollah more than two weeks ago.

Israeli media said up to 13 soldiers had been wounded. An army spokesman said he could only confirm several soldiers were wounded.
Israeli forces have been battling for days to take over Bint Jbeil, since seizing a village closer to the border last week.

Hezbollah earlier said in a statement in Beirut that fierce clashes were raging around Bint Jbeil. It said guerrillas had confronted Israeli forces trying to advance towards the town from a nearby hill.

The army estimates it has killed up to 30 guerrillas in the battle for the Bint Jbeil stronghold, home to 4000 people.

Until the latest fighting, nine Israeli troops had been killed in the ground offensive inside southern Lebanon.

Taking Bint Jbeil would be a morale-booster for Israel, which launched its Lebanese offensive after Hezbollah killed eight soldiers and abducted two others in a July 12 border raid.

Senior officers have described it as the main Hezbollah outpost in southern Lebanon.

Clearing Bint Jbeil could also be part of Israel's plan to establish a no-go zone for the guerrillas in southern Lebanon until an international force arrives to take over.

Defence Minister Amir Peretz said on Tuesday Israel would control a "security strip" along the 80-kilometre frontier and fire at anyone who entered.

He did not say how wide it would be. Israeli government sources estimated the zone's width at 3-4 kilometres.

According to Israeli intelligence estimates, Hezbollah fighters are holed up in a network of tunnels and trenches around Shiite Muslim villages in southern Lebanon.

Israel ordered civilians out of 14 of the villages over the weekend.

Rockets slam into Haifa

Meanwhile, a fresh barrage of Hezbollah rockets slammed into the northern Israeli city of Haifa today, wounding several people, police said.

One rocket landed near a car, seriously wounding a driver, medics said.

The fresh strike came as the United Nations chief aid official, Jan Egeland, was visiting the coastal city, a favoured Hezbollah target.

At least 11 rockets also landed in the town of Carmiel. It was unclear if there were any casualties.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has vowed to take the war deeper into Israel, suggesting there could be strikes at cities south of Haifa.
Such use of longer-range missiles would most likely trigger massive Israeli retaliation.

Nasrallah, whose group ignited the war by capturing two Israeli soldiers in a July 12 cross-border raid, said: "We cannot accept any condition humiliating to our country, our people or our resistance.

"Yes, the limit of our bombardment will not remain Haifa, regardless of the enemy's response. We will move to the phase of 'beyond Haifa'."

The current conflict is the first in which Hezbollah rockets have hit Haifa, Israel's third largest city.

UN deaths add to pressure for ceasefire

Israel strove today to limit the diplomatic damage from its killing of four UN observers in Lebanon ahead of an international conference in Rome on how to end its 15-day-old war with Hezbollah.

Hezbollah vowed not to accept any "humiliating" truce terms.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he had told UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan of his "deep sorrow" at the killing of the four UN observers, but voiced shock at Mr Annan's suggestion the attack was deliberate.

"The Prime Minister said he would never fathom the thought that the mistake that was made would be categorised by the UN as an action that was done intentionally," said a statement from Mr Olmert's office. He said he would order an investigation.

Mr Annan had demanded Israel probe the "apparently deliberate targeting" of the UN post in the village of Khiam yesterday.

Three bodies of UN observers recovered

Three of the corpses of the UN observers have been recovered and intense efforts were under way to recover the final body from beneath the rubble, a security source said today.

Fifty of the victims' former comrades from the Indian contingent of UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were desperately bidding to extract the remaining corpse with their hands or using improvised shovels, the source said.

The bodies of the three other soldiers were taken out some hours after the Israeli raid that destroyed their two-storey building in Khiam, equipped with an air raid shelter, which had served as their post.

Attempts to bring in a bulldozer were in vain but the Lebanese security source said that Israel had agreed to cease its bombardment to allow the recovery operation to continue.

China demands apology

China condemned the air raid, in which a Chinese national was killed. Its official Xinhua news agency said the other three observers were from Finland, Austria and Canada.

"The Chinese side is deeply shocked and strongly condemns this," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said in a statement, adding that the strike had killed "many innocent victims".

"The Chinese side demands that all sides in the confrontation, especially Israel, take all measures to ensure the safety of UN peacekeepers," the statement said.

Liu said Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zhai Jun had called in Israeli ambassador Yehoyada Haim this morning for an "emergency" meeting over yesterday's incident.

"The Chinese side ... demands that the Israeli side open a comprehensive investigation, apologise to the Chinese side and the victim's family and help the Chinese side in carrying out the mourning activities," the ambassador was told.

In contrast to the United States's stance, China said diplomacy, and not war, was the way to ensure stability in the region.

"We urge all parties to immediately implement a ceasefire and quickly return to the path of negotiation," Liu said.

"China will make more diplomatic efforts with the international community to push forward the resumption of peace and stability in the Middle East region."

Fighting in Bint Jbeil

An Israeli soldier was killed and five were wounded in heavy fighting with Hezbollah guerillas in the southern town of Bint Jbeil today, Al Jazeera television said.

An Israeli army spokesman said only that several soldiers had been wounded in clashes around the town, which Israel says is a Hezbollah stronghold, four kilometres inside Lebanon.

UN officials said the air strike flattened the building housing the observers. Lebanese security sources said three of the bodies had been dug out of the rubble.

"This attack on a long established and clearly marked UN post at Khiam occurred despite personal assurances given to me by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that UN positions would be spared Israeli fire," Mr Annan said in a statement.

The war has already killed 418 people in Lebanon and 42 Israelis. Israeli bombing has forced an estimated 750,000 to flee their homes. Many are still trapped in war zones.

The first UN aid convoy left Beirut for the southern port city of Tyre. The 10-truck convoy was carrying 90 tonnes of supplies, enough to feed 50,000 people for three months.

"This is a small convoy. This is a litmus test for the security controls in place," Khaled Mansour, a UN spokesman, told Reuters as the convoy left Beirut port.

Lebanon and its Arab allies were to plead at the Rome talks today for an immediate truce, but Washington says a lasting solution needs to be agreed first.

Israel, with apparent US approval, has said it will press on with its offensive. It also said it planned to set up a "security strip" in Lebanon until international forces were deployed.

Gaza offensive

Israel has also been waging an offensive in Gaza since June 28 to recover a soldier seized by Palestinian militants. Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians, including a three-year-old child and wounded 30, today, medics and witnesses said.

Israel has stepped up air strikes and launched raids in Gaza to retrieve the soldier and halt Palestinian rocket fire.

Altogether 129 Palestinians have been killed in the offensive.

Arab leaders and Mr Annan want the Rome conference to call a quick halt to the conflict but US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who has visited Beirut and Jerusalem, says she prefers to get conditions right for "a durable solution".

Israel and Syria, Hezbollah's main ally along with Iran, have not been invited to the Rome conference.

Hezbollah wants a truce to be followed by talks on swapping the two Israelis for Arab and Lebanese prisoners in Israel.

The US demands Hezbollah free the soldiers unconditionally and pull back from the border before disarming.

The Rome meeting will also seek agreement on what kind of international force could be sent into southern Lebanon - a mission fraught with danger unless Hezbollah consents.

Agencies

Runaways among casualties in Bombay blast

BOMBAY, July 16 (UPI) -- It may never be known how many of India's street children perished in the Bombay commuter-train explosions, it was reported Sunday.

Dozens of so-called railway children, who live on train platforms and beg and scavenge for food, were sent to hospitals and shelters for homeless children -- many with cuts, burns and shrapnel wounds, the Sunday Times of London reported.

An untold number were killed.

One 14-year-old boy who said his name was Mohammad was on the platform with his friend, Malik.

The blast killed Malik instantly, the newspaper said, and severed Mohammad's leg below the knee, leaving it hanging by the skin.

Had the attack been any later, there would have been 100 or so platform-sleepers there, the newspaper said.

The children, who typically make their living as "rag-pickers," sifting through trash left by commuters for materials they can sell for recycling, come from broken homes and large, poor families in India's most desperate states, including Bihar and Assam in eastern India.

Bombay is their city of choice, the Times said.

India third largest investor in Britain

Indian companies nearly doubled their investments in Britain during 2005-06 to emerge as the third largest overseas investor in that country.

According to the UK Inward Investment Report, Indian companies invested 1.02 billion pounds during the year.

"India is now the third largest investor in the UK with Indian foreign investment projects into the UK increasing by a staggering 110 per cent in 2005-06," Mark Dolan, British trade and investment deputy director (inward investment) for India, told a news conference while releasing the report Mumbai.

"During 2005-06, the UK recorded a total of 76 investment projects from India, creating 1,449 jobs.

"The flow of Indian investments into the UK has turned from a trickle in the late 1990s to a flood, with the scope and breadth of projects rapidly expanding. While ICT (information and communication technology) remains the dominant sector for investment, there was strong growth in investments in pharmaceuticals and engineering too," Dolan said.

"At the same time, more Indian companies are looking outside London reflecting the deepening of our investment relationship."

The big rise was due to the Indian investors taking advantage of Britain's expertise in high-value activities such as R&D, science, cutting-edge technology, innovative design and as a base for European headquarters, he said.

The report said 1,217 foreign companies from around the world chose to invest in Britain during 2005-06, which was a 14.3 percent increase over the previous year.

"The US with 446 projects, Japan with 84 projects and India with 76 projects are the top three investors," it said.

The 76 new projects from India include 39 from Mumbai-based firms, 10 from New Delhi, 22 from Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad, and 5 from Kolkata.

"Indian investment into the UK is now being given the recognition it deserves. This inward investment is amply exemplified by HCL that has created local employment of over 2,000 people and has contributed and made a tangible difference to the local economies in its own way," said HCL corporate vice-president (Europe) Rajeev Sawhney.

Other major Indian investors in Britain include Nicholas Piramal, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, the Apeejay Surrendra Group, Essel Propack and the Godrej Group.

Nicholas Piramal, one of India's largest innovative healthcare and pharma solutions firm, acquired the global marketing rights and technical know-how of Inhalation Anaesthetics business from Rhodia Organique Fine Ltd of Britain for 8.9 million pounds in 2005.

It also completed a 100 per cent acquisition of another British company, Avecia Pharmaceuticals Ltd, for 9.5 million pounds during the same year. It also bought 25 per cent equity in Reaxa Ltd, a technology company based in Manchester.

Nicholas Piramal recently acquired a manufacturing plant from drug giant Pfizer in Northumberland, gaining a strong foothold in the British bio-pharma sector.

Mahindra & Mahindra, the flagship company of the Mahindra Group, recently acquired British firm Stokes Forgings for an estimated 7.5 million pounds.

Essel Propack Ltd, the largest speciality packaging company in the world with an estimated 32 percent global market share, acquired Arista Tubes and Telcon Packaging in Britain for a combined value in excess of 6.4 million pounds.

"Essel plans fresh investments worth 2.7 million pounds in Britain to manufacture laminated and seamless tubes catering to the oral care, cosmetics, personal care, pharmaceutical, food and industrial sectors," Dolan said.

The Godrej Group, a leading name in engineering and consumer products in India, has a presence in Britain through Godrej International, its trading arm.

Godrej Consumer Products recently acquired Keyline Brands, a London-based consumer products company, for 16 million pounds.

Dolan said that companies from Kolkata too see Britain as an investment destination with great potential.

"The Apeejay Surrendra Group, one of the largest producers of tea in India with a workforce of 40,000, acquired Typhoo, a 100-year-old iconic British brand, at 80 million pounds," he said.