Sri Lanka arrests U.S. reporter's aides

Marie Colvin was reporting on the war with Tamil rebels on an expired visa

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Sri Lankan authorities have arrested five people for allegedly helping American journalist Marie Colvin illegally cross battle lines in the country's north, military officials said Friday.

Colvin was wounded in a skirmish between Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels when she tried to get back across government lines on April 17 after spending several days in rebel territory.

"We arrested one of the suspects almost immediately, and the other four on information we got from him," said military spokesman Brigadier Sanath Karunaratne.

He did not say what charges the five could face.

Colvin, who overstayed her visa, was strongly criticized by the Sri Lankan government for entering rebel territory without permission from the Defence Ministry.

She was injured by shrapnel in the head, chest, and arms.

Even local journalists are rarely allowed inside the war-zone, except on military-guided tours, and permission to cross the lines is hardly ever granted.

Ongoing civil war

Colvin was injured just before a five-day government ceasefire expired.

The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) declared a unilateral ceasefire four months earlier to push forward a Norwegian-brokered initiative to end the 18-year conflict that has killed an estimated 64,000 people.

The military has often accused the guerrillas of violating their truce.

Tamil Tiger rebels claim to have inflicted "a humiliating military debacle" on government troops a week ago, driving them out of newly captured territory and leaving hundreds dead.

A defense ministry statement confirmed its troops had pulled back to their original positions in Eluthumadduval, 18 miles east of Jaffna city, in the face of heavy rebel shelling and mortar fire.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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