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September 9, 2008

Sri Lanka Says it Shot Down Rebel Aircraft Amid Intensifying Fighting
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Government has also ordered aid workers out of battle zone as fighting
intensifies in north of country 
Sri Lanka says it has shot down a Tamil Tiger plane - the first rebel
aircraft to be brought down by the military. As Anjana Pasricha reports
from New Delhi, the government has also ordered aid workers out of the
battle zone as fighting intensifies in the north of the country. Air
force spokesman Janaka Nanayakkara says a small rebel plane was downed
early Tuesday, hours after the Tamil Tigers, also known as the LTTE,
launched an air and ground assault on a military base in the north.
Soldiers patrol a street in Vavuniya, about 200 kilometers (125 miles)
northeast of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, 09 Sept. 2008"Once the
aircraft came close to Vavuniya, the guns on the ground opened up, and
the LTTE actually aircraft turned away and were in the process of
returning, when our interceptors pursued them and one of these aircraft
were shot down," Nanayakkara said. It is the first time the air force
has brought down a rebel plane since Tamil Tiger rebels surprised the
military last year by mounting an air strike on a key military base near
Colombo, demonstrating that they had air power. Since then, their planes
- estimated to be just a handful of light aircraft - have struck at
several targets, including a naval base two weeks ago. If confirmed, the
downing of the rebel aircraft would be another morale booster for the
military, which has been making steady advances since it mounted a major
offensive to crush the rebels. The Defense Ministry says several rebels
and soldiers were killed or wounded in Tuesday's fighting. The new round
of fighting came a day after the government ordered all aid workers out
of the battle zone, saying it could not guarantee their safety. Aid
agencies have been helping an estimated 150,000 people displaced by the
fighting. The head of Colombo's National Peace Council, Jehan Perera,
says the government's order may be meant to protect aid workers. He says
it may also be meant to ensure that there are no "witnesses," if
civilians are killed during the military offensive. "If there are civi
lian casualties, then there will be international outcry against that
offensive, which the government may wish to reduce by asking aid workers
to leave," Perera said. Rights groups have accused both government
forces and rebels of disregarding the safety of civilians in the course
of the war. They have also blamed them for murder and abduction of
civilians. The rebels have been fighting for a quarter of a century for
an independent homeland for the Tamil community. The government says it
is confident of ending the long-running insurgency by the end of the
year. Analysts are skeptical. 


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