15 die in attack on Sri Lankan navy
Colombo, Sri Lanka An explosives-rigged fishing boat rammed a Sri Lankan navy patrol early today, killing at least 15 sailors in a suspected rebel attack, officials said.
One navy boat was destroyed in the explosion off the coast of Trincomalee – the latest in a series of attacks against government troops by suspected rebels, who are campaigning for a homeland for Sri Lanka’s 3.2 million ethnic minority Tamils. A second boat, which was at a distance, escaped the impact of the explosion.
Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defense blamed the naval wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for the attack.
Trincomalee, which has a strategic port and a base for the Sri Lankan navy, has been tense this week after five ethnic Tamils died. The military has said the men accidentally blew themselves up in a botched grenade attack on a military patrol, but the rebels said government forces attacked the men.
Violence has worsened in the country since November’s election of Sri Lanka’s new president, Mahinda Rajapakse, who campaigned on a promise to take a tough line in negotiations with the rebels.
Last month 45 soldiers were killed and 71 wounded in ambushes blamed on the rebels; government troops killed seven suspected rebels.
Eight killed in raid on Pakistan checkpoint
Islamabad, Pakistan Assailants armed with rockets and assault rifles attacked a newly built checkpoint near the Afghan border in Pakistan before dawn today, killing eight security forces, officials said.
The attack happened in a village near Miran Shah, the main town in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region where Pakistan has deployed thousands of troops and security forces in an effort to flush out remnants of the Taliban, al-Qaida and their local supporters.
All eight soldiers guarding the checkpoint were killed, said a senior security official.
The checkpoint was set up this week as part of Pakistan’s efforts to stop insurgents from sneaking into Pakistan or going back to Afghanistan, where U.S. forces have been trying to root out rebels.
Congo losing millions to treatable diseases
War-ravaged Congo is suffering the world’s deadliest humanitarian crisis, with 38,000 people dying each month mostly from easily treatable diseases, a study published Friday in Britain’s leading medical journal said.
Nearly 4 million people died in 1998-2004 alone – the indirect result of years of ruinous fighting that has brought on a stunning collapse of public health services, the study in the Lancet concluded.
The majority of deaths were due to disease rather than violence, but war has cut off or reduced access to health services for millions in the impoverished nation about one-quarter the size of the United States.
Most deaths reported were due to “preventable and easily treatable diseases,” the study said. Malaria, diarrhea, respiratory infections and malnutrition topped the list.
Major fighting ended in Congo in 2002, but the situation remains dire because of continued insecurity, poor access to health care and inadequate international aid.
Backed by about 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers, Congo’s government is struggling to re-establish authority across the country ahead of elections expected later this year, the first in decades.