Crossing completed at Mankulam

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 August 1999, 16:10 GMT]
Ten lorries carrying essential supplies were sent under ICRC escort to the Vanni this afternoon by 4.30 p.m. Supplies from lorries that came from Vavuniya were unloaded and reloaded onto lorries from the LTTE held areas of the Vanni which came through the safe passage on the A9 at Mankulam around 3 p.m.
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Further details of Vanni crossing

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 August 1999, 14:47 GMT]
Five hundred stranded travellers from the Vanni who are currently housed in the 'Kolikoodu' transit camp in Vavuniya will be in the first batch allowed to return to the LTTE controlled areas on Monday, said officials in the northern town of Vavuniya.
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Access route to be opened on Monday

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 August 1999, 17:02 GMT]
A safe route to the LTTE controlled areas of the Vanni will be opened on Monday and the first batch of 500 civilians, out of the 2000 who are stranded in Vavuniya, will be allowed to cross over along with 10 truck loads of food, said K.Ganesh, the Government Agent in Vavuniya.
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Access route to be opened on Sunday

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 August 1999, 12:17 GMT]
The movement of civilians and food between the LTTE controlled areas of the Vanni and SLA controlled areas is set to resume on Sunday August 8, said government officials in Vavuniya today.
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"Deep concern over deteriorating situation"

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 August 1999, 12:43 GMT]
The New York based international monitoring organisation, Human Rights Watch, yesterday urged the Sri Lanka government and the Liberation Tigers to" reach an immediate agreement which would guarantee safe passage of civilians and essential supplies" to the parts of the Vanni which are not under the control of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA).
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Mannar boat ambulance suspended?

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 August 1999, 19:24 GMT]
Six seriously ill patients were brought in fishing boats from the Vanni to Mannar hospital this evening around 5 pm by officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Medicine Sans Frontiers (MSF), said sources in Mannar. Unconfirmed reports say the boat service has now been suspended.
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New access routes proposed

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 August 1999, 13:28 GMT]
New proposals have been sent by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to the Liberation Tigers this morning regarding the opening of an access route to the areas held by the LTTE in the Vanni, Major General Lionel Balagalla the Chief of Staff and the Commandar for Vanni told a news conference held in Colombo this afternoon.
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Jaffna students organise prayers for Vanni

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 August 1999, 07:43 GMT]
There has been no movement on the dispute over where to open an access route to the Vanni, said the Colombo spokesman of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) - Mr. Harsha Gunawardene.
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Government Agents of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu transferred

[TamilNet, Saturday, 31 July 1999, 07:46 GMT]
The Government Agent of Mullaitivu, R. Tharmakulasingham and the Government Agent of Kilinochchi, T. Rasanayagam were transferred from their stations with immediate effect on the last evening.
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Kilinochchi G.A urges President to open route.

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 July 1999, 10:43 GMT]
T.Rasanayagam, the Government Agent in Kilinochchi, has asked the Sri Lankan President to make immediate arrangements to open a land route to the LTTE held areas of the Vanni.
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Stranded Vanni residents to go back?

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 July 1999, 16:46 GMT]
The Vanni Security Forces Commander, Major General Lionel Balagalle, said today that two thousand persons from among the Vanni residents who have been stranded in Vavuniya since the closure off all entry points to the areas held by the Liberation Tigers in the north could be sent back tomorrow.
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Situation in Vanni Deteriorating - GA

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 July 1999, 07:43 GMT]
People in the Kilinochchi district are affected by shortages of food, malnutrition and disease due to the closure of an access route to the Vanni, according to T.Rasanayagam the Government Agent in Kilinochchi, said sources.
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School boy killed in air attack

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 July 1999, 20:37 GMT]
Selvarajah Uthayakumar, a Year 3 student at the Visuvamadu Reddbarna School in the Kilinochchi district was killed in an air attack by Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) kfir jets at around 2.00 p.m. this afternoon said the Voice of Tigers (VoT) radio in its night news broadcast.
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Tigers offer alternative Vanni route

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 July 1999, 19:31 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers are ready to open an access route to the Vanni through the Uylankulam and Pallamadu areas in Mannar district or through Mankulam if the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) agrees to maintain a demilitarised zone in the area between the present defence lines of the two sides, the Voice of Tigers (VoT) said quoting S.P.Thamilchelvan leader of the LTTE’s Political wing in its morning news bulletin today.
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Mass protest in Vanni -GA

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 July 1999, 18:05 GMT]
At least eight seriously ill people in the Vanni have died as they had been unable to travel to hospitals in the south, due to the closure of the access route to the region, according to K.Ganesh, the Government Agent in Vavuniya. At least three thousand travellers who had come to Mannar and Vavuniya for various purposes and stranded are undergoing severe hardship without money and spare clothes to wear, the GA said.
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ICRC may move sick

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 July 1999, 13:30 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has not agreed to let the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) take relief supplies to the Vanni by sea from Mannar to Vidaththaltheevu but has granted the organisation permission to transport the sick not only by sea but through any of the access routes that are closed now, SLA official said today.
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New Mankulam DMZ proposed

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 July 1999, 13:10 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army officials said yesterday that they have suggested a new demilitarised zone, 5 km long and 1 km wide along the Mankulam- Thunukkai road, through which relief supplies may be taken into the Vanni.
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LTTE officials meet NGOs over route

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 July 1999, 23:02 GMT]
S.P.Thamilchelvan, leader of the Liberation Tigers' political section and his deputy, Karikaalan, met the representatives of international non governmental organisations in the Vanni to explain the position of the LTTE regarding opening of a route to the areas held by the LTTE., the Voice of Tigers (VoT) radio said in its morning news broadcast today.
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Patients await Vanni access route

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 July 1999, 12:26 GMT]
Four seriously ill patients who are awaiting treatment at hospitals in the south were taken yesterday by protesters to the ICRC's sub-delegation at Puthukudiyiruppu in the Mullaithivu district, to highlight the difficulties faced by ordinary people since the Vanni access route was closed, the Voice of Tigers(VoT) said this morning.
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Protests in Vanni over supplies

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 July 1999, 19:11 GMT]
The offices of international relief agencies in Mallavi in the Vanni are being picketed by people protesting against the closure of relief supplies into the region, reported the Voice of Tigers (VoT) radio in its night bulletin today. The offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and CARE are amongst those being picketed, said the radio.
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