Sri Lanka air force plane in emergency landing in south India

COLOMBO |
Sun Aug 28, 2011 4:41pm IST

COLOMBO (Reuters) – A Sri Lankan air force plane made an emergency landing in Chennai on Sunday after running into technical problems, the air force said.

Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu state, home to 60 million Tamils and the epicentre of Indian-based criticism over how Sri Lanka’s government defeated the Tamil Tiger separatists to end a 25-year civil war in May 2009.

“An Antanov 32 on an overseas trip made an unscheduled landing in Chennai due to a technical defect,” air force spokesman Group Captain Andrew Wijesuriya said.

He declined to comment on the destination or purpose of the flight. Local media reported the plane was given extra security.

Sri Lankan pilgrims to holy sites in Tamil Nadu have recently faced attacks and harassment stemming from local anger, fuelled by some politicians, over war crimes allegations.

The Tamil Tigers used Tamil Nadu as a rear operating base throughout the Sri Lankan conflict, and India’s intelligence service trained them in military tactics there in the late 1970s and 1980s.

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal; Editing by Bryson Hull)

Article source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/INtopNews/~3/yUaZ7_HymqE/idINIndia-59014020110828

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