SLA screens for Tiger activists

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 March 1999, 08:38 GMT]
There are 15 -25 Liberation Tiger operatives among the population in the Tamil villages captured by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) during 'Operation Rana Gosa' said army spokesman Brig.Sunil Tennekoon today, while addressing the cabinet press briefing at the Parliament this morning. He said that population control measures are under way to detect these Tigers.

The military spokesman added that 'Rana Gosa' has been completed and that there are eight to nine thousand civilians in 14 village divisions comprising 25 hamlets in the area brought under the army's control during the operation.

The Iranai Iluppaikkulam hospital has been restarted and schools are being reopened here he said.

Brigadier Tennekoon said that two limited operations had been carried out by the army in Kottady and Madduvil in Jaffna.

The SLA had recovered a T-56, 4 magazines, 150 rounds of ammunition and a military uniform at Kottady and at Madduvil 6 grenades, 2 uniforms and 1 first aidbox.

The Brigadier claimed that the bombs that went off in Colombo this week were the work of the LTTE. Answering a question about this, he said that he did not know what the Tigers have in mind in exploding such bombs in Colombo.

The military spokesman also said that the army had conducted a special operation in Iruttuchcholai in Batticaloa and recovered some LTTE propaganda material.

Iruttuchcholai is a small interior settlement in the in Batticaloa's western hinterland which is under the control of the Liberation Tigers.