New York, NY (BBN) – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday deplored the latest suicide bombing in violence-torn Sri Lanka, which has killed many people, including a retired army general, and wounded scores more.
Media reports say at least 27 people have died, including General Janaka Perera, following Monday’s blast at the office of an opposition political party in the town of Anuradhapura in north-central Sri Lanka.
“The Secretary-General strongly condemns acts of this kind that have caused [the] death and injury of many civilians throughout Sri Lanka,” Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said in a statement. “He reiterates his consistent position that no cause or grievance can justify indiscriminate attacks against civilians.”
Senior UN officials, including Mr. Ban, have voiced increasing concern in recent weeks about the humanitarian impact on civilians of the intensified fighting between Sri Lankan government forces and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), especially in the north of the country.
BBN/SI/SS/AD-08October08-1:19 AM (BST)
