Civilians flee Jaffna's coastal suburbs

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 September 2006, 16:48 GMT]
Civilians in Pasaiyoor, Kolumbuthurai and Ariyalai East Sunday evening fled from their coastal villages towards Jaffna town as artillery shells from Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) postions hit Sri Lanka Army (SLA) deployments along the coastal areas.

The civilians who had re-settled in the area after the clashes on August 11, began fleeing the area after the fresh SLA offensive Saturday early morning.

At least seven artillery shells fell close to the SLA positions in the coastal area, civilians said.

Sri Lankan forces were heaviliy deployed in the coastal areas following the clashes in August.