Civilians asked to leave battle zone

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 April 2000, 18:41 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Thamil Eelam (LTTE) asked the people of the Pachchilaipalli division near the Elephant Pass garrison in Jaffna to leave their villages by tomorrow afternoon and move to safety in Kodikamam. The Tigers said that they will hold fire from 6 a.m. in morning to 2 p.m. in the afternoon tomorrow to facilitate the movement of people out of Pachchilaipalli.

The LTTE's announcement was made over the Voice of Tigers radio this evening. The Tigers said that the fighting formations of Operation Unceasing Waves III are poised to push further into Jaffna.

They asked the people of Pachchilaipalli to take the detour to Kodikamam through Puloplalai, Kilali and Kachchai and to avoid the A9.

They also told the civilians to move one kilometer away from the Sri Lanka army's bases, camps and artillery positions.

The LTTE called on humanitarian organisations to assist the movement of the civilians from Pachchilaipalli to Kodikamam tomorrow.

The Pachchilaipalli division comprises the villages of Pulopalai east, Pulopalai west, Allipalai, Vanaankerni, Mullaiyadi, Thambakamam, Soranpattu, Maasaar and Tanmakkeni.

The VoT said that two young fishermen from Maruthankerni, Paranchothy 21, and Asok 25 were blown to pieces yesterday around 4 p.m. when the Sri Lanka Air Force bombed the Chembiyanpattu coast as they were setting out to sea.

The radio said that the Tigers had attacked the Elephant Pass base and Iyakkachchi base last night. An SLA tractor was also attacked by them in this sector yesterday according to the VoT.