Aphoo
05-17-2007, 11:37 AM
A spokesman said this followed a stand-off which lasted roughly 12 hours in Maldivian territorial waters.
He said the vessel had been sunk and five people on board had been captured.
Despite a truce still being in place on paper, Sri Lanka has been sliding back towards civil war, with more than 4,000 people killed in the past 15 months.
The chief spokesman for the Maldives government Mohammed Hussain Sharif said the stand-off between its coastguard forces and the suspected rebel boats happened near an atoll, several hundred nautical miles south of the main archipelago.
He said the five people on board the boat were being questioned. There has been no immediate comment from the Tamil Tigers.
Mr Sharif said that the Maldives vessel had been fired upon first, and one of those held had said the others were armed Tamil Tigers.
Sea clashes
Earlier this month, a number of rebels were killed in a sea battle with the Sri Lankan navy off Sri Lanka's north-eastern coast.
The navy said it sank two Tamil Tiger boats, part of a flotilla of 26 rebel vessels, and killed at least 10 rebels.
The Tamil Tigers are fighting for an independent state in the north and east.
Clashes at sea and on land are now an almost daily occurrence. Both sides say they still respect the ceasefire and are responding to the other side's aggression.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6664361.stm
He said the vessel had been sunk and five people on board had been captured.
Despite a truce still being in place on paper, Sri Lanka has been sliding back towards civil war, with more than 4,000 people killed in the past 15 months.
The chief spokesman for the Maldives government Mohammed Hussain Sharif said the stand-off between its coastguard forces and the suspected rebel boats happened near an atoll, several hundred nautical miles south of the main archipelago.
He said the five people on board the boat were being questioned. There has been no immediate comment from the Tamil Tigers.
Mr Sharif said that the Maldives vessel had been fired upon first, and one of those held had said the others were armed Tamil Tigers.
Sea clashes
Earlier this month, a number of rebels were killed in a sea battle with the Sri Lankan navy off Sri Lanka's north-eastern coast.
The navy said it sank two Tamil Tiger boats, part of a flotilla of 26 rebel vessels, and killed at least 10 rebels.
The Tamil Tigers are fighting for an independent state in the north and east.
Clashes at sea and on land are now an almost daily occurrence. Both sides say they still respect the ceasefire and are responding to the other side's aggression.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6664361.stm