JERUSALEM/COLOMBO: Israel’s national security council called on Israelis on Wednesday to immediately leave some tourist areas in southern Sri Lanka over the threat of a possible terrorist attack.
The agency said the warning pertained to the area of Arugam Bay and beaches in the south and west of Sri Lanka, and stemmed from “current information about a terrorist threat focused on tourist areas and beaches.”
The security council did not specify the exact nature of the threat and called on Israelis in the rest of Sri Lanka to be cautious and refrain from holding large gatherings in public areas.
“The Israeli security establishment ... is in close contact with the security authorities in Sri Lanka and is following the developments,” it said.
The US embassy in Sri Lanka also released a security alert stating it had received “credible information warning of an attack targeting popular tourist locations in the Arugam Bay area.”
“US citizens are strongly urged to avoid the Arugam Bay area until further notice,” it added but did not give details.
Germany’s Foreign Ministry also urged travelers to avoid the area or to leave it as soon as possible, citing “indications of possible attacks on tourist destinations.”
Police security has been beefed up in the area and officials are on high alert, police spokesperson Nihal Thalduwa said in a video statement released in Colombo.
“This area is a popular spot for surfing and this has attracted a large number of Israeli tourists. We are working to ensure they remain safe,” Thalduwa said.
Sri Lanka, famed for its pristine beaches, tea plantations and historic temples, is seeing a resurgence in tourists as the island nation recovers from a severe financial crisis.
In the first eight months of this year, 1.5 million tourists arrived in Sri Lanka, including a total of 20,515 from Israel, government data showed.
Israel issues travel warning to parts of Sri Lanka over terrorism threat
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Israel issues travel warning to parts of Sri Lanka over terrorism threat
- The security council did not specify the exact nature of the threat and called on Israelis in the rest of Sri Lanka to be cautious
- “The Israeli security establishment ... is in close contact with the security authorities in Sri Lanka and is following the developments,” it said
Kurds in Turkiye protest over Syria Aleppo offensive
- Several hundred people gathered in Diyarbakir while hundreds more joined a protest in Istanbul
- In the capital, Ankara, DEM lawmakers protested in front of the Turkish parliament
DIYARBAKIR, Turkiye: Protesters rallied for a second day in Turkiye’s main cities on Thursday to demand an end to a deadly Syrian army offensive against Kurdish fighters in Aleppo, an AFP correspondent said.
Several hundred people gathered in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkiye’s main Kurdish-majority city, while hundreds more joined a protest in Istanbul that was roughly broken up by riot police who arrested around 25 people, the pro-Kurdish DEM party said.
In the capital, Ankara, DEM lawmakers protested in front of the Turkish parliament, denouncing the targeting of Kurds in Aleppo as a crime against humanity.
The protesters demanded an end to the operation by Syrian government forces against the Kurdish-led SDF force in Aleppo, where at least 21 people have been killed in three days of violent clashes.
It was the worst violence in the northwestern city since Syria’s Islamist authorities took power a year ago. The fighting erupted as both sides struggled to implement a March agreement to integrate autonomous Kurdish institutions into the new Syrian state.
In Istanbul, hundreds of protesters waving flags braved heavy rain near Galata Tower to denounce the Aleppo operation under the watchful eye of hundreds of riot police, an AFP correspondent said.
But some of the slogans drew a sharp warning from the police, who moved to roughly break up the gathering and arrested some 25 people, DEM’s Istanbul branch said.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the police attack on the Rojava solidarity action in Sishane. This brutal intervention, oppression, and violence against our young comrades is unacceptable!” the party wrote on X, demanding the immediate release of those arrested.
At the Diyarbakir protest during the afternoon, protesters carried a huge portrait of the jailed PKK militant leader Abdullah Ocalan, an AFP video journalist reported.
“We urge states to act as they did for the Palestinian people, for our Kurdish brothers who are suffering oppression and hardship,” Zeki Alacabey, 64, told AFP in Diyarbakir.
Although Turkiye has embarked on a peace process with the PKK, it remains hostile to the SDF, which controls swathes of northeastern Syria, seeing it as an extension of the banned militant group and a major threat along its southern border.
It has repeatedly demanded that the SDF merge into the main Syrian military. A defense ministry official said on Thursday that Ankara was ready to “support” Syria’s operation against the Kurdish fighters if needed.
Demonstrators had already taken to the streets in several major Turkish cities with Kurdish majorities on Wednesday, including Diyarbakir and Van, according to images broadcast by the DEM.
