Jaffna town deserted

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 May 2000, 13:50 GMT]
The Jaffna town was deserted this morning though the curfew imposed by the army was lifted for three hours from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Most of the town's population have moved out to the Waligamam sector, a journalist at a Jaffna daily office contacted by phone this afternoon said. Ex-Tamil militant sources in the town claimed that Sri Lanka Air Force's Israeli Kfir jets heavily bombed the Navatkuly and Thanangkilappu areas this morning.

The ex-militant sources added that the Tigers continue to hold a section of Colombuthurai, a coastal suburb of the Jaffna town. The Ariyalai and Thanangkilappu areas are held by the Liberation Tigers now.

The Kfir jets were on bombing sorties to hit Tiger troop positions in this sector and in Navatkuly ex-Tamil militant sources said.

The A9 highway between Ariyalai and Navatkuly remains breached with LTTE troops continuing to hold this segments of the road according to them.

The government Media Centre said today that three soldiers were killed and thirty eight were wounded when the Liberation Tigers attacked Sri Lanka army positions in Colombuthurai.