US, Italian ambassadors in Sri Lanka wounded in rebel attack

[brooklynite]

The ambassadors of the United States and Italy were wounded in an artillery attack by suspected Tamil rebels in eastern Sri Lanka, human rights minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, who was accompanying them, said.

US ambassador Robert Blake and Italian envoy Prio Mariani were hit by shrapnel from the attack at the Batticaloa airforce base as they got off a military helicopter, Samarasinghe said.

Mariani had a head injury and was taken to the main local hospital together with 11 others, hospital director Muruganathan Moorthy told told Agence France-Presse.

The US ambassador had minor injuries and was being flown to Colombo.

http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/afx/2007/02/26/afx3464907.html

Great, another international crisis. The other ones were getting a little bit boring...

[BayCityProgressive]

1. why not add another

I'm sick of Sudan, Somalia,Venezuela,North Korea,Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Palestine...

[Eugene]

2. AFP: Tigers 'regret' Sri Lanka shelling that wounded diplomats

Tigers 'regret' Sri Lanka shelling that wounded diplomats

1 hour, 9 minutes ago

COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lanka's Tiger rebels Tuesday expressed "deep regret" for an artillery
attack that wounded three Western diplomats but accused the government of risking their
lives by taking them to a war zone.

The Tigers said the Sri Lankan government and the diplomats had failed to inform them
that they would be flying in two military helicopters into an area where only the air force
operated.

The shelling stopped after a UN official contacted the Tigers and said that diplomats were
in the helicopters, the Tigers said, blaming the military for risking the lives of foreigners.

-snip-

The Tigers said that foreign diplomats and aid workers travelling in the island's embattled
north informed them in advance to ensure their safety but no such procedure had been
followed on Tuesday.

-snip-

The military said the Tigers knew that the diplomats were visiting the area because the
meeting had been announced in advance.

-snip-

Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070227/pl_afp/srilankaunrestattacktigers_070227082511