|
Sri Lanka – bombs on buses kill 23 |
 |
Two bomb attacks on buses in Sri Lanka killed at least 23 people on June 6, the latest in a series of assaults by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels on the country’s transport system.
In the first attack, 20 people were killed and 64 injured when a roadside bomb exploded during morning rush hour near a crowded bus in the capital Colombo. Later in the day, another explosion hit a bus in the central town of Polgolla killing at least two and jwounding 20 others. The Government has blamed the LTTE for the other attacks in urban areas the intensity of which has increased since the military began a new push against rebel territory in the north and the east.
The latest blasts came two days after the military blamed rebels for a bomb attack on a railway track that wounded 27 civilians in Colombo. Another attack on a passenger train on 26 May had left nine people dead and 84wounded in Dehiwala area near the capital.
The latest blast on June 6 threatened to snowball into a law and order problem, but the situation was brought under control by police personnel who rushed to the area. President Rajapakse in a statement urged people to remain calm and not give in to what he called deliberate provocations aimed at fanning communal hatred and violence.
|
