Rajapaksa delegates civil police powers to military

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 April 2007, 11:23 GMT]
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has delegated civil powers hitherto discharged by the Police to the three armed forces, Sri Lanka Army (SLA), Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) by a recent Extra-Ordinary Gazette Notification of 1491/18 under Chapter 40 of the Public Security Ordinance dated April 06, 2007. Civil powers entrusted with the police throughout the whole island have been delegated to the military by Mr. Rajapaksa.
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National ID identifies Mannar youth in alleged cyanide incident

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 April 2007, 13:05 GMT]
The Tamil youth who allegedly killed himself taking cyanide after being arrested by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on Wednesday in Mannar has been identified by his National Identity Card (NIC) as Vaithilingam Roshan, 27, of Muttur in Trincomalee district. The acting Mannar Magistrate Mr.M.P.Farook who viewed his body at Mannar hospital Thursday afternoon ordered the hospital authorities to keep the body for three days for his relatives to claim, sources said.
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13 fishermen missing, one youth abducted in Mannar

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 April 2007, 20:03 GMT]
Thirteen Tamil fishermen left for fishing Monday morning in Mannar Sea went on missing and another youth was abducted at Murunkan the previous night by persons came in a rickshaw.
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Pirapaharan confers Maamanithar award to Poet Naavannan

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 April 2007, 06:27 GMT]
Leader of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Velupillai Pirapaharan, Saturday bestowed the title Maamanithar (Great Human being) posthumously on poet Naavannan, Marusaleen Soosainayagam, who passed away on April 15 last year in Vanni at the age of 58. Mr. Pirapaharan honoured the late poet, a Catholic who hailed from Mannar, for his literary contribution to the Tamil struggle.
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Tigers hand over 7 SLA bodies to ICRC

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 April 2007, 12:42 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Liason officer for the NGOs, Thiyagarajah, handed over seven bodies of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers to ICRC Kilinochchi Head Official Katja Loren, Thursday around 2:00 p.m. The eight SLA troopers were killed in the LTTE counter attack against the SLA's attempt to penetrate into LTTE territory through Mullikulam, Mannar. One of the dead bodies was in decomposed state.


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SLA operation in southern front thwarted, 8 SLA bodies recovered - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 April 2007, 06:03 GMT]
Liberation Tigers Wednesday morning said they have repulsed a fresh ground operation by the Sri Lanka Army that attempted to move towards Paalamoddai, northwest of Vavuniya, according to the Military Spokesman of the Tigers, Irasiah Ilanthirayan. SLA troopers, on retreat, have left behind their dead soldiers, arms and ammiunition, including a Rocket Propelled Grenade Launcher and 15 automatic guns. Eight bodies of SLA troopers were located by the Tigers who were clearing the area, according to the latest information provided by the LTTE field officials in Vanni. The bodies are to be handed over to the ICRC.
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Missing person in Mannar allegedly murdered by fellow fishermen

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 April 2007, 19:36 GMT]
Talaimannar Police arrested a person in connection with the disappearance of a fisherman few days ago in Talaimannar Sea and produced him before the Mannar Magistrate's court Tuesday. Additional Magistrate T.J.Pirapaharan ordered remand for the suspect till April 19. The police made the arrest following a complaint by parents of the missing person that he had been murdered by fellow fishermen and not due to navy firing.
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Mannar district under tight security

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 April 2007, 10:34 GMT]
Security in Mannar district has been tightened and more police personnel and soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) have been deployed for patrollling of key roads, civil sources in Mannar said. Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and Police have set up additional roadblocks along Pallimunai-Mannar Road and along Talaimannar-Thalvupadu Road, and are thoroughly checking all vehicles.
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SLA accused of claymore attack on passenger bus

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 April 2007, 03:32 GMT]
Vanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Mr.V.Selvam Adaikalanathan in a statement issued Sunday accused the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) for the claymore mine attack on the passenger bus at Piramanalankulam bound for Vavuniya from Mannar on Saturday. Eight civilians were killed and about 25 injured in the attack.
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Gunfire kills fisherman in Talaimannar sea

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 April 2007, 03:22 GMT]
A fisherman fishing with two others in a fibreglass boat in Talaimannar Sea was reported missing since Thursday after unidentified persons had fired at the boat, according to a complaint lodged with the Talaimannar Police on Saturday.
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Civilians flee from LTTE-held village in Mannar

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 April 2007, 16:50 GMT]
Fifteen persons belonging to four families from Pappamoddai village in the Liberation Tigers controlled territory in Mannar district sought refuge Saturday morning in Sri Lanka government held Pallimunai village. They arrived in a boat at Pallimunai coast and registered their names with the Grama Sevaka Niladhari of the division seeking relief and accommodation, sources said.
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Attacks against civilians devised by Sri Lankan military intelligence - LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 April 2007, 04:46 GMT]
Sri Lankan military intelligence has resorted to attacks against Tamil and Sinhala civilians to depict a bad pattern of deliberate attacks against civilians with a "sinister motive" of tarnishing the image of the Liberation Tigers, charged Irasiah Ilanthirayan, military spokesman of the Liberation Tigers, Saturday after the latest Claymore attack that targeted a civilian bus on Vavuniya Mannar Road.
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7 killed, 25 wounded, bomb targets bus carrying Tamil, Muslim civilians

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 April 2007, 04:25 GMT]
A Claymore mine was triggered on Vavuniya Mannar Road, 25 km west of Vavuniya town, killing 7 and wounding 25, including four children, Police said. The bomb attack has targeted a Sri Lanka Transport Board (CTB) bus, carrying Tamil and Muslim civilians, travelling from Mannar to Vavuniya Saturday around 7:40 a.m. between Piramanalankulam and Puthukulam. 19 wounded patients were rushed to Vavuniya hospital, according to medical sources.
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LTTE, GoSL must work for sustainable peace- Jaffna Bishop

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 April 2007, 10:55 GMT]
Jaffna Bishop, Rt. Rev. Thomas Savundara- nayagam in his Easter Message delivered Thursday said: "In the perilous climate where abductions, disappearances and killings have become normal occurrences, people in Jaffna are leading a life filled with fear and mental trauma. Many are seeking danger-filled ways to escape from this open prison. The Government of Sri Lanka and Liberation Tigers must work with sincerity to arrive at a honourable, sustainable settlement to the conflict."
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SLN vessel sunk, 7 killed in Mannar seas - LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 April 2007, 07:09 GMT]
Seven Sri Lanka Navy personnel were killed and a SLN gunboat was sunk after a naval clash when three Sri Lankan gunboats blocked a Sea Tiger patrol in Mannar waters at 11:15 a.m. Friday, Liberation Tigers Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Navy in Colombo claimed to have sunk a LTTE boat and said one of the SLN Inshore Patrol Crafts was slightly damaged and a sailor had sustained small injuries.
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SLA arrests 6 Tamil youths in Muthur welfare center

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 April 2007, 00:20 GMT]
Six youths staying at the St. Antony's Church Welfare Centre in Muthur in Trincomalee district were arrested by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers on 31 March midnight, civil society sources in Mannar said. Although the SLA told the parents that that the youths are being taken for interrogation, the youths have not been released yet. The parents of the arrested appealed to the human rights organizations to obtain their sons release.
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HC applications filed on behalf detained Tamil fishermen

[TamilNet, Saturday, 31 March 2007, 11:03 GMT]
Habeas Corpus (HC) applications have been filed in Sri Lanka's Court of Appeal on behalf of five Tamil fishermen of eastern province arrested in Mannar Sea on 21 March 2006 by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) for allegedly straying into the high security zone (HSZ), legal sources said. The fishermen are currently being kept in detention under the Emergency Regulations (ER) without being charged in court of law since their arrest.
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Sri Lankan MIG bombers attack coastal villages in Mannar, Mullaitheevu

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 March 2007, 13:23 GMT]
Four Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Russian made MIG bombers Monday noon attacked Vellankulam, located north of Iluppaikkadavai in Mannar district and Pokkanai in Puthukudiyiruppu in Mullaithivu district in the evening around 5:30 p.m. Both the locations bombed were civilian areas.
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5 Tamil fishermen held without charges

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 March 2007, 11:23 GMT]
Five Tamil fishermen, arrested on 21 March 2006 by Sri Lanka Navy for allegedly straying into the high security zone in Mannar sea, are still being detained in Colombo magazine prison under the Emergency Regulations (ER) without any charge, as relevant documents not reviewed by Attorney General's department for more than a year, legal sources said. The fishermen were produced defence before the Colombo Chief Magistrate last Friday.


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Mannar police recovers grenade near Telcom building

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 March 2007, 16:10 GMT]
Mannar police recovered a grenade at a site located opposite the telecommunication office along Mannar railway station road Saturday evening around 5 p.m., sources in Mannar said. The grenade was diffused by the bomb disposal squad of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA).
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