SLA will capture more and more ground, vows SL Premier

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 September 2006, 11:38 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister vowed Friday to capture “more and more” territory from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and said the international community was coming forward to help his government "root out terrorism from the island." Ridiculing the LTTE’s assertion that there can be no moves towards peace as long as the Sri Lankan military occupied the Sampoor region which it captured last week in a ground offensive, SL Premier Ratnasiri Wickramanayake said “not an inch of Sampoor will be relinquished now or in the future.”
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SLA soldier, civilian killed in Claymore explosion in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 September 2006, 21:27 GMT]
A Sri Lankan Army (SLA) soldier and a video shop owner were killed. A SLA trooper and 3 civilians were injured in a Claymore explosion that targeted a SLA road patrol in Chenkalady, 13 km northwest of Batticaloa Friday around 12:15 p.m., Police said.
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Emergency extended for another month in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 September 2006, 21:46 GMT]
Sri Lanka's parliament Tuesday adopted a motion of extending the State of Emergency for another month by a majority of 99 votes. 108 members including the ruling United peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), main opposition United National Party (UNP), Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), all monks' party Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and other constituent parties of the government voted for the motion. Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians voted against.
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Two Tamil civilians shot dead in Valaichchenai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 September 2006, 06:56 GMT]
Two Tamil persons said to be supporters of para military Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) were shot dead Tuesday night between 8 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. in Valaichchenai area in Batticaloa district. A message saying "death for traitors," was written in posters signed by Ellalan Brigade found near the bodies, sources said.
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STF bans vehicles over Paddiruppu entry point in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 September 2006, 19:59 GMT]
The Sri Lankan counter insurgency Special Task Force (STF) personnel, manning the Kaluwanchikudy-Paddiruppu Bridge, a gateway to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled territory in Batticaloa district, on Tuesday, did not allow transport of vehicles through the entry point that was partly re-opened Saturday after 3 weeks.
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Exodus of Tamil IDPs to Vaharai continues

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 September 2006, 12:35 GMT]
Exodus of Tamil families from the Trincomalee district to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam controlled Vaharai has been continuing due to ongoing military operations by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in the Muthur East LTTE territory. "Till now about 62,643 members of around 16,540 Tamil families have sought refuge. Of this about 10,657 families have been sheltered in five camps in Vaharai division in the Batticaloa district", Mr.K.Mahesan, Batticaloa District Additional Government Agent said Sunday.
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Tamil parties protest against abductions in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 September 2006, 18:05 GMT]
Representatives of Tamil political parties addressing a press briefing held Friday in Colombo Holiday-In-Hotel said they are going to hold awareness meetings among Tamil people in Colombo from next week against the increase of abduction by the intelligence service of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA). They stressed that several Tamil youths in Colombo had been abducted by SLA intelligence unit in past and immediate action should be taken to stop this.
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NGO official, mother gunned down in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 September 2006, 08:18 GMT]
Planning officer attached to Tsunami reconctruction project of the Sewalanka, a non governmental organization, was shot dead at his home in Karaveddy in Jaffna, around 8:45 p.m., Friday. His 55 year-old mother, who attempted to block the killers, was also killed by the armed men. The NGO officer's wife and his brother have been admitted at the Manthikai hospital with injuries, sources said.
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Private air line employees abducted in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 September 2006, 07:24 GMT]
Three employees, including a woman Finance Director of the Aero Lanka Air Line have been abducted in Colombo by unidentified persons who came in a white coloured van on 22 August, according to a complaint lodged with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL).
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SLA trooper killed in ambush, curfew re-imposed in Vadamaradchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 01 September 2006, 04:55 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army Lance Corporal was killed and five troopers wounded in a Claymore blast when a group of SLA soldiers on a road clearing patrol were ambushed near Karaveddy Predeshiya Sabha (PS) office in Vadamaradchi, around 7:45 a.m., Friday. SLA announced over its radio that curfew has been re-imposed in Vadamaradchi sector from Friday noon and launched a cordon and search operation in Karaveddy. Several civilians were assaulted by the soldiers following the attack. Tension prevails in Vadamaradchi.
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SLA ban affects cultivation in LTTE held Batticaloa villages

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 August 2006, 23:55 GMT]
Cultivation of paddy in about fifty thousand acres and cash crop in around forty thousand acres in the LTTE controlled areas in Batticaloa district has been completely affected as the farmers are not allowed to enter the government controlled area to buy agro-chemicals, fertilizer for their crops and to purchase petroleum products for the use of tractors via SLA checkpoints located in Vavunativu, Chenkalady and Kiran Bridges and Vaharai road, pointed out Mr. P.Ariyanethran and Miss K.Thangeswary, Batticaloa district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians at a conference held Thursday morning in the Batticaloa District Secretariat Auditorium.
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LTTE seeks road supply to Jaffna civilians

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 August 2006, 14:16 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers are ready to allow food and medicine for the civilians in Jaffna to be transported by road through the Vanni, to ease the difficulties of the population there, LTTE officials told the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Wednesday. Agreement on the use of a sea route to the peninsula is proving problematic as the Sri Lanka military is seeking to resupply its garrison there under the guise of aid for civilians, LTTE officials said.
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Three men killed in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 August 2006, 18:10 GMT]
Three men were shot dead in three separate incidents in Jaffna during the last 24 hours, ending at 8 p.m., Tuesday, police in the northern town said.
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Tamil News Manager abducted in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 August 2006, 02:50 GMT]
Nadarajah Kuruparan, News Manager of Sooriyan FM Radio broadcast from Colombo and the programme leader of popular weekly programme, Viluthukal, in Sooriyan FM, is reported missing since Tuesday morning around 4:30 a.m., Dehiwale Police said. Mr. Nadarajah Kuruparan, a senior Tamil news editor, was on his way to work in his car, when he was reported missing 300 meters away from his house, on Pinthali Road. Journalist associations and Free Media Movement in Colombo held an urgent protest calling for the release of Kuruparan in front of Colombo Fort Tuesday from 12:30 p.m. till 13:30 p.m.
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Sister and brother shot dead in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 August 2006, 23:45 GMT]
Armed men shot and killed two members of the same family Saturday 08:15 p.m. on Udhayan Street, Sithandy, in Batticaloa district. The killings have taken place in the wake of two separate shootout incidents, on Friday and Saturday, in the area where 2 Sri Lanka Army troopers were injured when a group of attackers fired at road clearing patrol units of the SLA.
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SL parliament to debate North East situation

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 August 2006, 06:50 GMT]
A special debate on the volatile situation in the North East province is to be held in Sri Lanka's Parliament Wednesday. Leaders of political parties represented in parliament Tuesday agreed to the request by Mr.R.Sampanthan, parliamentary group leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), parliamentary sources said.
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Catholic priest reported missing in Allaipiddy, Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 August 2006, 13:17 GMT]
Rev.Fr. Thiruchelvam Nihal Jim Brown, Age 34, Parish Priest Allaippiddy, Jaffna is reported missing since 20 August 2006, according to a news release issued by the NorthEast Secretariat of Human Rights.
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Eight on LTTE-related charges in US

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 August 2006, 07:18 GMT]
US authorities Monday charged eight men with providing material support to the Tamil Tigers the US Justice Department said. Amongst the charges are conspiring to buy surface to air missiles for the Tamil Tigers and bribing US officials to have the LTTE removed from a list of terrorist organizations and to obtain classified intelligence, a statement said. The evidence include consensual recordings of telephone conversations and meetings with US officials, it added. The Tigers deny any involvement in the activities of the arrested individuals whilst Sri Lanka hailed the move.
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SLA bans Colombo bound heavy vehicles from east

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 August 2006, 19:40 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has imposed a total ban on heavy vehicles transporting cargo such as fish, and other perishable goods from the districts of Amparai and Batticaloa to Colombo. These vehicles are stopped at Welikanda and Ottamavadi and sent back to Batticaloa and Amparai. The ban has come into effect since Saturday, civil sources said.
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Sivamaharajah assassinated

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 August 2006, 03:48 GMT]
Managing Director of Jaffna Tamil daily "Namathu Eelanadu" and the veteran chairman of Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society (MPCS) in Tellippalai, Jaffna, Sinnathamby Sivamaharajah, 68, was shot and killed at his temporary residence inside the High Security Zone of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Tellippalai Sunday night around 7:20 p.m. Mr. Sivamaharajah is a former parliamentarian (TULF) and a senior member of Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), the main constituent party of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).
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