2ND LEAD (Correction)

Civilians stranded at Oamanthai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 May 2007, 12:33 GMT]
Continued closure of Oamanthai check point by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) for the past three days has caused severe hardships for the general public, sources in the area said. SLA troops commenced heavy artillery attack targeting civilian areas and A-9 Highway, Thursday, and abruptly closed the checkpoint at about 11:00 a.m. Public has been blocked from traveling through the checkpoint, stranding a large number of civilians on either side.

On Friday SLA allowed 21 patients to be taken to Vavuniyaa hospital. Rest of the patients still held up at Kilinochchi hospital.

A large number of people planning to travel to Vavuniyaa are stranded at Pu'liyangku'lam, sources inside LTTE area said.

Chronology: