Activists attempt to attack Sri Lankan mission in Chennai

Chennai, Mar. 2 (ANI): Activists fighting for Tamil victims of the Sri Lanka's offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, tried to attack the office of the Sri Lanka Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai on Monday.

Shouting slogans against the Indian and Sri Lankan Governments, around 200 activists of the Tamil Eelam Freedom Federation rushed towards the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner's office in Chennai.

"We condemn the Sri Lankan Government which is killing the Tamils and (also) the Indian government for its support and the Tamil Nadu government for its assistance, so we Tamil Eelam Freedom Federation are protesting to close down the Sri Lankan embassy here," said Paavendhan, coordinator of TEFF.

The activists wanted the mission to be closed down, but a special task force stopped them.

The issue of protecting sixty million Tamils in war torn Sri Lanka, is expected to become even more sensitive before General Elections starting from April 16.

The Tamil Tigers are confined to less than 58 square kilometers and are being pushed towards a 12 kilometers no-fire zone on the island's northeastern coast, where tens of thousands of fleeing people have taken refuge.

The U.N. refugee agency on Friday urged the Sri Lankan Government to expect up to 85,000 people to flee in the coming days or weeks.

Most are squeezed inside the no-fire zone, and nearly all the 36,000 people who have fled this year came out when troops reached an older no-fire zone set up by the army further inland.

The military claimed that there were no more than 70,000 people trapped by the rebels in the fighting, while the UN estimates the number to be around 200,000. (ANI)