(Reuters) – The foreign ministers of Britain and France urged Sri Lanka on Wednesday to implement a humanitarian cease-fire with Tamil Tiger rebels in order to allow tens of thousands of trapped civilians to escape the battle zone.
Sri Lanka earlier in the week promised to stop using heavy weapons in its fight to finish off the rebels and to concentrate its military efforts on freeing the civilians, but both sides report continued fighting and casualties.
Following are some key events in the 25-year conflict between Tamil separatist rebels and the Sri Lankan government.
1983 – Tiger attack in north kills 13 soldiers, triggering anti-Tamil riots in capital, Colombo. Hundreds die, thousands flee. Start of what Tigers call “First Eelam War.”
1987 – Having earlier armed Tigers, India sends troops to enforce truce it brokered. Tigers renege, refuse to disarm and begin three years of fighting that kills 1,000 Indian soldiers.
1990 – India withdraws. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) control northern city of Jaffna. “Second Eelam War” begins.
1991 – Suspected Tiger suicide bomber kills former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in southern India. Two years later, Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa assassinated in separate suicide attack. LTTE blamed in both.
1995 – President Chandrika Kumaratunga agrees to truce with rebels. “Eelam War 3” begins when rebels sink naval craft. Tigers lose Jaffna to government forces.
1995-2001 – War rages across north and east. Suicide attack on central bank in Colombo kills around 100. Kumaratunga wounded in another attack.
2002 – Landmark cease-fire signed after Norwegian mediation.
2003 – Tigers pull out of peace talks, cease-fire holds.
2004-2005 – Tamil Tiger eastern commander Colonel Karuna Amman breaks away from LTTE and takes 6,000 fighters with him Suspected Tiger assassin kills foreign minister. Anti-Tiger hardliner Mahinda Rajapaksa wins presidency.
2006 – Fighting flares in April-July, raising fears of start of “Eelam War 4.” New talks fail in Geneva in October.
2007 – Government captures Tiger’s eastern strongholds.
2008 – Government annuls cease-fire in early January and launches massive offensive.
January 2, 2009 – Troops seize Tiger’s de facto capital, Kilinochchi.
April 5 – Military says it has confined the rebels to a no-fire zone measuring just 17 square km (6.5 sq miles).
April 17 – Rebels call for a truce after two-day government fighting pause expires. Government rejects the call as a ruse.
April 20 – Sri Lanka gives the rebels 24 hours to surrender as tens of thousands of civilians flee battle zone.
April 26 – Tigers declare a unilateral cease-fire. Sri Lankan government dismisses cease-fire and says they must surrender.
April 27 – Sri Lankan government says it ceases combat operations with heavy weapons and operations will be confined to using only small arms and rescuing civilians trapped in the war zone.
April 29 – British and French foreign ministers urge government to implement a humanitarian cease-fire, as both sides in the war report continued fighting and casualties.
(Writing by Ranga Sirilal; Editing by Jerry Norton)
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