US, other envoys meet to discuss Sri Lankan fightingUS, European Union European Union (EU), name given since the ratification (Nov., 1993) of the Treaty of European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, to theEuropean Community , Japanese and Norwegian envoys met here Wednesday to discuss the latest fighting in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (srē läng`kə) [Sinhalese,=resplendent land], formerly Ceylon, ancient Taprobane, officially Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, island republic (2005 est. pop. , including the need for both sides to protect civilians, a US diplomat said. "The fighting has been expanding, heading toward the north," Richard Boucher, the assistant secretary for south Asian affairs Asian Affairs, the Journal of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, has been published continuously since 1914 (formerly as the Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society). It covers a range of social, political, and historical subjects linked to Asia. , told reporters after attending the meeting at the US mission of the United Nations in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . "We're placing a lot of emphasis right now on the protection of human rights for civilians who are caught in the fighting and the democratic government's responsibility for respecting and extending human rights protections to the people in the areas they take over," Boucher said. The participants in the meeting also discussed the need for both sides to make sure they are ensuring humanitarian deliveries to the people displaced by the fighting. These points are being made to Sri Lankan officials both at the UN General Assembly in New York as well as in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital, Boucher said. "We're all having meetings in New York with representatives of the Sri Lankan government," he said, adding a Sri Lankan envoy did not attend the international meeting at the US mission. "Some of the parties are in touch with the Tamil Tigers Tamil Tigers or Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Guerrilla organization seeking to establish an independent Tamil state in northern and eastern Sri Lanka. during the course of their activities," he said. In Colombo, the defense ministry said Sri Lankan government forces have killed 16 Tamil Tigers and lost three of their own troops in the latest clashes across the north of the island. The fighting on Tuesday also saw government jets raid the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Noun 1. Tamil Eelam - the independent state that the Tamil Tigers have fought for Eelam Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka, Ceylon - a republic on the island of Ceylon; became independent of the United Kingdom in 1948 (LTTE) northern capital of Kilinochchi, the objective of the current offensive. At least 6,862 rebels have been killed by security forces since January, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. ministry figures, while 672 soldiers have died during the same period. The Sri Lankan government pulled out of a ceasefire with the rebels in January, and is currently trying to dismantle their northern mini-state. Aid organisations say the fighting has forced around 230,000 people from their homes. 
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