11.   The International Committee of the Red Cross pulled out last month when the rebels ended their assurance not to attack the vessels.

12.   The International Committee of the Red Cross stopped escorting food ships to the Peninsula last month after the rebels withdrew its assurance not to attack the vessels.

13.   The Red Cross stopped escorting food ships to the Jaffna Peninsula last month after Tigers failed to renew their promise not to attack the vessels.

14.   The rebels, who are fighting for an independent homeland in northern Sri Lanka, attacked the vessel from three directions.

15.   They said the suspects planned to sail a dinghy loaded with explosives into the strait to attack the vessels.

16.   In theory, the current truce does not apply to the sea, with the navy reserving the right to attack hostile vessels with air support.

17.   Several vessels have been attacked in the area in the recent past and several hundred people are believed to have died.

18.   Tensions were further heightened when a Panamanian-registered Taiwanese vessel was attacked in the sea off southern Taiwan by a suspected Chinese gunboat.