Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, October 09, 2002
Sri Lankan Court Grants Bail to Detained Tamil Rebels
Sri Lanka's Court of Appeal granted on Tuesday bail to two Tamil Tiger rebels charged with carrying illegal weapons which will facilitate the release of six government soldiers detained by the rebels in eastern Trincomalle area nearly two weeks ago, officials said.
Sri Lanka's Court of Appeal granted on Tuesday bail to two Tamil Tiger rebels charged with carrying illegal weapons which will facilitate the release of six government soldiers detained by the rebels in eastern Trincomalle area nearly two weeks ago, officials said.
The two rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were ordered by the court to present themselves twice a month at a police station.
The LTTE rebels have insisted the release of two of their member in exchange for six government soldiers they had detained in Trincomalle district on Sept. 25.
The six soldiers together with the other already released were taken captive by the LTTE rebels when they were collecting sand for construction in an area which both the government and the rebels claim control.
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission officials toured the rebel-held area in the north last Tuesday to secure the release of the soldiers without success.
The government and the LTTE rebels concluded their historic first round of the Norwegian-brokered peace talks in Thailand mid last month.
The LTTE rebels have been fighting the government troops to setup a separate homeland for the minority Tamil community in the north and east of the country. More than 64,000 people have been killed since 1983.