SL army to declare ceasefire if rebels halt offensive

Colombo, Aug 5: Sri Lanka will declare a ceasefire if the island's Tamil Tigers made good on a pledge to halt offensive operations in a town in the island's east and pull back, the military said today.

''If the pull out is true, we will reciprocate very positively,'' military spokesman Maj. Upali Rajapakse told Reuters. ''If that is the move of the Tigers, all the guns would become silent. That would be a ceasefire.'' A Tiger source earlier told Reuters the rebels were withdrawing to their own territory and halting their offensive, saying it was a humanitarian gesture to enable thousands of displaced Muslims who fled yesterday to return home.

Reuters

Related Stories