Indian Troops To Help Demine Sri Lanka

By vivek raghuvanshi

India will send troops to Sri Lanka to help in demining efforts, even as the island nation has canceled weapon and equipment purchases from China and Pakistan.About 500 Indian troops will help Sri Lanka demine the areas where the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fighters had been operating for more than two decades, a senior Indian Defence Ministry official said.The dispatch of Indian troops coincides with an official announcement that Colombo is canceling a $200 million purchase of ammunition from China and Pakistan. Although the island nation said this move is prompted by the end of hostilities with LTTE, a Foreign Office official said it is a major win for India. India had supplied weapons and equipment to fight the LTTE, including air defense radars and patrol boats. In 1987, India sent thousands of troops as peacekeeping soldiers on request from Colombo.India has also supplied two warships to Sri Lanka, and a request for a third warship is pending. New Delhi supplied weaponry to Sri Lanka, fearing that if it did not do so then Colombo might turn to Pakistan and China, the Indian Defence Ministry official added.

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