Durham cricket stars in Sri Lankan suicide attack

Feb 24 2009 by Paul Loraine, The Journal

Tigers threat

THIS latest air raid shows the Tamil Tigers are still a threat as the military corners them in a small area of jungle in the country’s north. The America-based organisation Human Rights Watch says about 2,000 civilians have been killed and another 5,000 wounded in fighting in the past month. It is a war that has lasted more than 25 years, with the Tamil rebels fighting for an independent homeland. But the Sri Lankan military claim they are close to victory, saying the rebels have suffered serious losses in recent months. The Tigers are made up of predominantly economically deprived Tamil agricultural workers whose families lost their jobs due to economic reforms in the late 1970s. Recruits are given a long course of military training and are handed a cyanide capsule to be worn around the neck.