In the aftermath of a claymore mine attack on a military convoy carrying troops from Mannar to Medawachchi which killed three individuals, Colombo formally announced its withdrawal from the cease-fire agreement and the termination of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM)1. Colombo has however re-affirmed its commitment to a solution to the ethnic crisis and stated that a negotiated settlement was still a possibility which would be pursued2.

The United States and the UN, expressing apprehensions over the termination of the cease-fire agreement, noted that it be “more difficult to achieve a lasting, peaceful solution to Sri Lanka’s conflict”3. The fighting also escalated with the Sri Lankan Air Force bombing a training camp, resulting in the loss of fifty LTTE cadres along the Forward Defence Lines in the North4.

• 1. “Flash: Sri Lanka govt withdraws from Ceasefire Agreement”, The Colombo Page, January 2, 2007, at http://www.colombopage.com/archive_08/January2162852JV.html
• 2. “Still for political option: Colombo,” The Hindu, January 4, 2007, at http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/04/stories/2008010460991600.htm
• 3. “US, UN urge a political solution as Sri Lanka ends ceasefire agreement”, The Colombo Page, January 4, 2007, at http://www.colombopage.com/archive_08/January472428CH.html
• 4. “LTTE training camp destroyed,” The Hindu, January 1, 2007, at http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/01/stories/2008010156351400.htm