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.