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| Sri Lanka |
| '20 suicide bombers in Colombo to kill Lankan president' |
| 2007-11-16 |
| A group of 20 Tamil Tiger suicide bombers have infiltrated Sri Lanka's capital and are planning to murder the president and senior government officials, an MP warned Thursday. Mahinda Ratnatillake said the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were also plotting to strike ports and airports on the island just weeks after losing their number two in a government air raid. "We have information that 20 suicide bombers have arrived in Colombo to assassinate the president, his two brothers and 10 cabinet ministers," Ratnatillake told reporters here. The younger brother of President Mahinda Rajapakse, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, Sri Lanka's tough-talking defence secretary, narrowly escaped assassination by a suicide bomber in December last year. Ratnatillake said the Tigers wanted to economically weaken the government. His remarks, made in the presence of senior minister Anura Yapa, who holds the media portfolio, came as the MP justified his defection from opposition ranks to the side of the government. The government is trying to push its budget through parliament, where it has a slim majority, and failure to win a vote next Monday would prompt early elections. Ratnatillake said he wanted to ensure the government survived to continue its "war on terror." There was no immediate comment from government officials on the MP's warnings. Many observers believe it is only a matter of time before the rebels attempt to avenge the death in an air strike on November 2 of their political chief and de facto number two S.P. Thamilselvan. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Hope the Sri Lankans are on full alert. They have the Tigers on the ropes, and if they can keep up the momentum, they can crush this rebellion once and for all, and bring peace at last. |
| Posted by: gromky 2007-11-16 05:06 |