Suicide attack mars peace talks

last updated 8 January 2015

Habarana, Sri Lanka

A suicide bomber drove a truck bomb into a bus convoy of Sri Lankan sailors this week, killing nearly 100 of them and injuring another 100. The separatist Tamil Tigers, who pioneered the use of suicide bombings decades ago in their fight to secede, were assumed to be responsible. The attack was the deadliest since 2002, when the Tigers and the government signed a truce, and it came as both sides were preparing to attend talks in Geneva to avert a return to civil war. Hundreds of people have been killed in clashes between the two sides in recent months. The government said the truce was over, but that the Geneva negotiations would go on. “We will continue retaliating, taking action against them,” said government spokesman Palitha Kohona, “but we will go to the talks.”