Ratwatte visits Jayasikurui areas

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 May 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Deputy Minister for Defence Gen. Anuruddha Ratwatta visited the forward areas of Operation Jayasikurui today along with the Army commander and other senior service commanders.

SLA sources said that the troops had begun an operation from their positions in Olumadu towards Mankulam in the early hours of the morning before the ministers visit.

Gen. Ratwatte returned to Colombo today after a brief tour in some of the forward areas of Operation Jayasikurui.

However, some of the senior commanders who accompanied him have stayed back, said sources.

They said that there were clashes between the Liberation Tigers and the army in the Olumadu area last night and that some soldiers were wounded in the fighting.

However, military officials declined to reveal details of casualties. But acknowledged that troops had sustained damages in the clashes.

Meanwhile the Voice of Tigers (VoT) said in its night broadcast that Sri Lankan Air Force aircraft had bombed Vaddakachchi in the Kilinochchi last night.

The radio said, civilian deaths were prevented as the people in the area had quickly moved to safer places.