Sri Lanka War Takes Toll on Innocents

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Associated Press

By RAVI NESSMAN

KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka (AP) - Palani Amma Subramaniyam sits in quiet despair, surrounded by woven baskets and terra cotta pots in her deserted market stall in rebel-controlled territory in northern Sri Lanka.


A female Tamil Tiger fighter stands guard during a funeral of two Tamil fighters, as relatives grieve in the background in Kilinochchi, about 270 kilometers, 169 miles, northeast of Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 11, 2007. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)


Just last year, her business was thriving amid a cease-fire in the decades-long war between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels. Customers drove from hours away to buy crafts from her and other vendors in the market in Kilinochchi.

Now, the truce has all but collapsed, and so has her business, leaving the 66-year-old exasperated with both sides in the conflict.

"It doesn't matter who wins, whether it is the government or the LTTE. What we want is peace, to live," she said.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20070804/D8QQBDR00.html