Ratwatte orders Amparai borders strengthened

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 May 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Deputy Minister of Defence, Anuruddha Ratwatte, during a tour of the camps coming within the Amparai Brigade's area of command, told senior SLA personnel that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which was once on the fringes of the area coming under SLA control in Amparai, had managed to infiltrate within, said sources in Batticaloa.

In view of this, the border areas of the Amparai District had to be strengthened, he said.

Orders by Deputy Minister and other military top brass led to the Amparai- Batticaloa border, Monaragala-Amparai border and the Badulla-Amparai road to be made more secure, said sources.

It was in consequence of these orders that STF personnel had moved to Thaandaanmalai, 60 km west of Batticaloa on April 30.

The STF had moved to Thaandaanmalai from their camps at neighbouring Unnichchai and Pulukonawa, to lie in ambush for the LTTE.

The Sri Lanka Army (SLA), police and STF camps in the Amparai District are also to be strengthened, said sources.

It was this movement of STF into the Thaandaamalai jungles on the April 30, that led to the bodies of three men who went out to chop firewood on that day not being recovered even on Saturday.