NI man in Sri Lanka curfew

Northern Ireland man worked at Colombo airport

A Belfast man has been describing the tense atmosphere in Sri Lanka following a night raid by rebel Tamil Tiger guerillas on the island's main airport.

David Little is employed by Shorts in Belfast and is based at Colombo airport.

The attack before dawn on Tuesday claimed the lives of at least 12 people, with 47 British tourists escaping to safety.

Mr Little said he got a phone call to his room by a colleague telling him of the attack.

"I got a call from a Rolls Royce representative at about six o'clock saying 'make no move, stay where you are, because the LPP, the Tamil Tigers have launched an offensive against the airport', and the attack was going on as he was speaking to me.

"The curfew that was imposed after this attack extended not only to where we are, but another 10km further, so within a radius of about 30km, nobody was supposed to move.

After 30 years of going through it in Northern Ireland you just learn not to go to places where you shouldn't be

David Little

"We were told to stay absolutely where we were, take no risks, don't go anywhere," he said.

"The news bulletin I was listening to on local radio said the police and the army had everything under control."

Mr Little said that because of his experiences of living in Belfast during the Troubles, there was "no chance of me going anywhere near it".

"After 30 years of going through it in Northern Ireland you just learn not to go to places where you shouldn't be."

Tracer bullets

The Britons, who were waiting for connecting flights, had to run for their lives out of the terminal building as mortar flashes and tracer bullets lit up the runway.

A spokesman for the British foreign office said they all escaped injury.

Britons are advised not to attempt to travel to the airport.

It was not clear on Tuesday when the airport would re-open but tourists were advised to keep in touch with their tour operators, airline or the high commission itself.

All flights from the airport have been suspended, while incoming flights have been diverted to the southern Indian city of Madras and the Maldives as well as destinations in the Middle East.

Varada Kumar, executive secretary of London's Tamil Information Centre, told BBC News Online there had been no switch in Tamil Tiger tactics to targeting foreign tourists.

"The Tigers have never targeted foreigners and that has been confirmed by several other governments.

"Even in this attack there was no injury to any foreigners and it was a major military success for the Tigers.

"The operation was targeted to destroy the air fleet which often bombed the Tamil area."