138 military personnel killed, 549 injured in May - Wikremanayaka

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 June 2008, 16:48 GMT]
During the third session of Sri Lanka's parliament which commenced Thursday morning after a month long prorogation by Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa using his executive powers, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake stated that during May 138 members of the three armed forces and police were killed and 549 were injured in confrontation with the LTTE. 63 civilians were also killed during that period, according to Wickremanayaka.

The parliament was prorogued on the eve of east provincial council election on May 8.

The motion moved by the government to extend the State of Emergency for another month was also taken up for debate.

"The time is not far away for the government security forces to eliminate terrorism from the country," Wickremanayake added during his address to the parliament.

The Speaker W.J.M.Lokkubandara was in the chair.