Military censorship alleged in reporting Northern FDL casualties

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 January 2008, 08:10 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Palaly high command have been censoring casualty figures of SLA from clashes in the Northern Forward Defense Lines with Liberation Tigers, reliable sources internal to the SLA said. While the SLA Media Information Centre said only a single SLA trooper was injured and SLA captured several LTTE bunkers during an SLA advance to breach the FDLs in NaakaraKoayil and Mukamaalai during the last weekend, internal military sources confirmed that more than 40 SLA soldiers were killed and nearly 100 injured after LTTE engaged the SLA in resisting the advance.

Military trucks with Police escort transported the more than 40 bodies of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers to Palaali Military base from Nakarkoayil and Mukamaali FDLs following the battle. The bodies were transported after the Assistant Commissioner of Police in Jaffna visited the areas to assess the casualty situation, sources confirmed.

The More than one hundred SLA troops seriously injured in the clashes have been admitted to Palaali Military Base hospital.

Meanwhile, the LTTE had launched artillery shells Monday on the SLA bases in Mirusuvil, Va’ra’ni and Usan areas while simultaneously targetting Palaali military airbase.

Some of the shells had hit the civilian areas near Va’ra’ni SLA base but no one was injured, sources in Thenmaraadchi said.

But shells have fallen and exploded inside Va’ra’ni SLA base injuring several troops, unconfirmed reports from Thenmaraadchi said.