In the worst ever LTTE attack against foreigners in Sri Lanka, at least two foreign diplomats were injured. The ambassadors of Italy and the United States were hurt in the attack. The Sri Lankan government claimed about injuries to the German ambassador also but the German Foreign Ministry denied it later.
Two military helicopters were transporting ambassadors from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and the EU as well as a delegation including the heads of three UN agencies. After the LTTE attack, the Sri Lankan military also retaliated with air attacks in Batticaloa district at the suspected positions.
Later, the Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe told to media that injuries to the US, Italian and German ambassadors were minor. Mahinda was also with those ambassadors. He said:
A shell fell a short distance away from where we were. We heard about four explosions. The ambassadors are slightly hurt.
Despite the attack, the foreign delegation held a meeting with local official in batticaloa and flown back to Colombo. The Italian ambassador Pio Mariani had suffered a head injury but doctor declared his condition as stable. A small piece of shrapnel removed from his head during the treatment.
The French ambassador Michel Lummaux, Japanese envoy Kiyoshi Araki and EU representative Julian Wilson were escaped unhurt from the attack.
The German EU presidency has criticized the artillery attack on envoys and said that the peace negotiations should be urgently resumed in Sri Lanka. The European Union has urged the Sri Lankan government and Tamil rebels as well to stop the violence and resume peace talks to find a viable solution to the conflict.
