Bus Bombing Kills 24 Near Sri Lanka's Capital
By VOA News
25 April 2008
A bomb explosion on a crowded bus near Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo, has killed at least 24 people and wounded more than 40 others.
The blast occurred Friday's evening rush hour at a bus station in the suburb of Piliyandala. No one has claimed responsibility, but authorities are blaming the Tamil Tiger rebel group.
Separately, Sri Lankan military officials said Friday that government troops have taken control of a revered Roman Catholic shrine, just two days after one of their deadliest battles with Tamil Tiger fighters.
Military officials say soldiers captured the centuries-old Catholic church in Madhu with little resistance. The church is located in Mannar District, on Sri Lanka's northwest coast, on a front line in the renewed civil war between the army and the Tamil Tigers.
The Roman Catholic shrine housed a 400-year-old sacred statue that attracted mass pilgrimages. The church also served as a sanctuary for thousands of civilians seeking refuge from the war.
Also Friday, the United Nation's Children's Defense Fund (UNICEF) confirmed the release of 28 child soldiers by the government-backed Tamil militant group TMVP.
The TMVP, made up of fighters who defected from the Tamil Tigers, released 11 child soldiers earlier this month.
Tamil Tiger rebels have been fighting for an independent homeland in northern Sri Lanka since 1983. The violence has claimed more than 70,000 lives.
Fighting in the north has intensified in recent months, after the government formally withdrew from a largely ignored cease-fire.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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