Last week, the UN High Commissioner for human rights, Louise Arbour, was on a 5-day visit to Sri Lankan in an attempt to assess the human rights situation in the country and try to temper the flow of violence that has attached itself to the country for decades now. But now it appears that her visit to the Asian nation was just futile.
Ceasefire agreements between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE rebels have already been thrown out of the window. The Tamil Tiger rebels are one of the most dangerous guerrilla fighters in the world and their attack on the Sri Lankan army camp, in the north of the country, has comes as one more gruesome reminder of the rebels’ strength. This attack has come hand in hand with suspected LTTE raids on military base in the south too.
The LTTE rebels want an independent state for minority ethic Tamils in the north, which is their stronghold. The attack in the southern region of the nation does come as surprise and this is an indication that the Tamil Tigers are stretching their claws to other, less sensitive, areas too.
Almost 70,000 people have lost their lives and thousands other have had to run away from their homes since war broke up in 1983. Although consistent peace efforts and international pressure have allayed the violence over the years, the string of skirmishes and the occasional major attacks in the past few months have rekindled apprehensions of another civil war.
Image Source: Sangam
Sourc: Reuters
