Embargo said causing malnutrition, deaths

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 January 2001, 23:03 GMT]
Four patients suffering from severe malnutrition died last month at the Kilinochchi hospital, medical officials in the Vavuniya said Friday. The hospital is unable to treat scores of people in the district bitten by rabid dogs because it has no anti-rabies vaccine in stock, according to them. Severe malnutrition is prevalent in the Vanni, particularly among children, due to the decade long economic embargo imposed on the region by successive Sri Lankan regimes. Vaccines and drugs considered essential in the acutely underdeveloped Vanni backwater are generally not available or chronically short in supply due to draconian restrictions by the Sri Lanka army.
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'Pongu Thamil' demos in Batticaloa and Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 January 2001, 17:09 GMT]
Demonstrations were held Wednesday in Vavuniya and Batticaloa in support of the Pongu Thamil rally in Jaffna. Hundreds of undergraduates of the Eastern University in Batticaloa and the College of Education in Vavuniya gathered for peaceful rallies urging the Sri Lankan government to start peace talks with the Liberation Tigers and to recognize the Tamil people's right of self determination.
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Vavuniya students protest against abduction

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 January 2001, 14:10 GMT]
Students of National College of Education at Poonthoddam in Vavuniya demonstrated in the northern town Wednesday, protesting against the abduction of one of their colleagues by gunmen suspected to be from a militia working with the Sri Lankan army around 9 p.m.Tuesday. Somasundaram Mukunthan, a third-year student of the college, was abducted from his home at Pandaariakulam, a suburb of Vavuniya town, by gunmen men who had come in an auto-rikshaw, student sources said.
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SLA asked to assist murder investigation

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 December 2000, 15:43 GMT]
The Vavuniya district judge M.Ilancheliyan Monday directed the commander of the Sri Lanka army units in the Cheddikulam region to assist the court in the investigation into the murder of Kanapathipillai Selvakumar (42) of Maniarkulam who was abducted by armed persons from his home on Saturday. Selvakumar's body was found by the village reservoir yesterday.
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US ambassador visits Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 December 2000, 16:32 GMT]
The US ambassador for Sri Lanka, Ashley Wills, held discussions Friday with the Government Agent (GA) for Vavuniya about the situation in the border town and about the conditions obtaining in the Vanni. Officials at the Vavuniya Kachcheri said that the US ambassador had keenly ascertained the ground realities in the region, particularly regarding food and medical supplies to the Vanni during his hour long meeting with the GA, K.Ganesh.
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Two hunters shot dead by SLAF

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 December 2000, 23:15 GMT]
Pampaimadhu residents, Arulanantham Kamalanathan (29), and Sinnathamby Sivakumar (30) who went hunting in Poovarasankulam, Vavuniya were shot and killed by Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) personnel on Monday evening, said sources. SLAF claimed that the men were LTTE members and that they had recovered two grenades and a pistol from the dead men.
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Police tortured say young Jaffna women

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 December 2000, 17:20 GMT]
The Vavuniya High Court last Tuesday discharged two young girls from Jaffna charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), on the ground that the Police had obtained confessions from them under duress. Mariyathas Mary Sharmila,18, of Alvai north and Shanmugam Sharmila, 21, of Sivankoviladi, Madduvil south told the court that they were severely tortured by male Police personnel during their detention.
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Bindunuwewa camp to be relocated to Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 December 2000, 01:43 GMT]
Prison authorities in Sri Lanka are planning to establish a new rehabilitation camp in Vavuniya to replace the camp at Bindunuwewa in Bandarawela which ceased to function following the brutal murder on the 25th October of this year of more than 24 Tamil prisoners housed in the camp, said sources.
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Tigers ambush SLA convoy

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 November 2000, 07:43 GMT]
Eight Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers, including a lieutenant were killed and 17 wounded when a bus in which they were travelling was hit by a powerful claymore blast at Piramanalankulam, about 22 km. west of Vavuniya on the Mannar road, around 11.15 a.m. Thursday, security sources said.
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Fourteen reported missing in November

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 November 2000, 17:11 GMT]
Fourteen persons have been reported as missing to the Vavuniya Human Rights Commission by their relatives in November, said sources.
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SLA raids TELO camp

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 November 2000, 08:06 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers Tuesday raided the camp of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) at Muthliyakulam in the Cheddikulam area south-west of Vavuniya around 6 a.m. and arrested 13 persons, including 4 civilians said Mr. Selvam Adaikalanathan, MP and the leader of the organisation.
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Policeman shot dead in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 November 2000, 16:22 GMT]
A military trained policeman was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at Police Sector II at the 7th mile Post along Vavniya-Mannar road at 5.30 p.m. Sunday, said police sources.
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Fighting at Omanthai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 November 2000, 05:04 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers had repulsed the Sri Lanka Army troops who had attempted to advance at Vilakuvaithakulam in the Omanthai area, north of Vavuniya around 9 a.m. Saturday the Voice of Tigers (VoT) said in its morning transmission today. At least 6 government troops were killed in the fighting, the radio said.
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Grenade attack in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 17 November 2000, 16:12 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army soldier was killed and three others were wounded in a grenade attack on a sentry post at Temple road in Jaffna around 2.30 p.m. Friday said sources.
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PTA detainee released - confessed under torture

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 November 2000, 19:27 GMT]
The Vavuniya High Court acquitted Balasingham Illakanakanthan, who had been charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), on the basis that the confession of the accused was obtained under duress whilst in Sri Lanka Army custody. The accused had been in remand for about eighteen months.
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Fire-fight in Valaichenai

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 November 2000, 07:42 GMT]
Four soldiers were wounded when the Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) clashed Sunday night in the Valaichenai area, about 32 kilometers north of Batticaloa, security sources said.
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Four more bodies identified

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 October 2000, 13:32 GMT]
The bodies of four detainees killed in the Bandarawela massacre were identified Tuesday morning at Colombo National Hospital. They were named as Kokulamani Sajeewan of Kallady, Batticaloa, Perinpanayagam Nimlaraj of Batticaloa, Somasuntharam Sellarasa and Sivan Kubendran of Arayampathi. All bodies were found to be in a highly decomposed state, hospital sources said.
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Funerals held for massacre victims

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 October 2000, 14:17 GMT]
Large crowds attended funerals conducted in eastern Batticaloa around 4 p.m. Saturday for five of the victims killed during an attack on Bindunuwewa detention centre sources said. The remaining 8 bodies were transported to their native towns of Vavuniya, Trincomalee and Jaffna by helicopters Friday.
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Massacre victims' bodies taken to North-East

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2000, 20:09 GMT]
Thirteen bodies of victims of Bindunuwewa detention centre massacre were transported to their native places in North-East provinces by helicopters Friday evening. Police sources said identification of the remaining bodies are delayed as they were either mutilated or charred beyond recognition by the fire at the Centre.
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Hartal to protest journalist's slaying

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2000, 19:56 GMT]
A hartal was observed on Friday in Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Vavuniya to protest against the killing of Jaffna based journalist Mylvaganam Nimalanathan allegedly by pro-government militiamen. Shops and schools were closed and few reported for work in government offices, sources said.
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