SLN slaps restrictions on civilian movement from Jaffna Islets

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 August 2006, 11:28 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) has barred all members except one in each family to travel to Jaffna mainland from Jaffna Islets from noon Friday, residents of Kayts said. Hundreds of families who were planning to relocate to areas in Jaffna mainland seeking safety are prevented from relocating even though the Security Forces have lifted the curfew for five hours from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m.

Civilians who were stranded in Jaffna mainland were allowed to re-enter the islets after meticulous checking in Pannai, residents reaching the islets said.

Hundreds of families were displaced from the islets during the 1990s and these families relocated back to the islets after the signing of the MoU between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers in 2002.

SLN's new restrictions are an attempt to prevent families from leaving the islets, civil society sources said.