SE Asia linked to Tigers

SE Asia linked to Tigers

COLOMBO (Reuter): A Sri Lankan rebel arms ship blown out of
the water by the navy and air force on Wednesday is believed to
have come from a Southeast Asian country, a senior naval officer
said yesterday.

"We firmly believe it came from that region," the officer told
Reuters.

Newspapers yesterday speculated that the vessel, carrying arms
and explosives for the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE), may have reached Sri Lanka from Thailand.

"It's not necessarily Thailand," the officer said. "Southeast
Asia is a trans-shipment area. We certainly do not suspect Thai
involvement."

Thailand last month ruled out the possibility the LTTE were
using a remote island in the Andaman sea as a transit point for
ferrying arms to Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan navy and air force destroyed the ship, the name
Horizon painted on its hull, off Mullaitivu, about 290 km (180
miles) northeast of Colombo. Surveillance of Sri Lankan coastal
waters has been stepped up for fear of further rebel attempts to
bring weapons into the country.