Vessel leaves Trinco taking stranded passengers

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2006, 11:24 GMT]
About five hundred stranded Tamil civilians in Vavuniya Wednesday left from Trincomalee port by a vessel "Sakthi" chartered by the Sri Lanka security forces. The civilians were brought to Trincomalee from Vavuniya by several buses Tuesday evening and they spent Tuesday night on board the vessel, port sources said.
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Third group awaits sea-journey to Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2006, 01:52 GMT]
Vavuniya district Secretariat have made arrangements to send the third group of civilians stranded in Vavuniya and Mannar to Jaffna in ship from Trincomalee harbor on Wednesday, officials said. The Jaffna bound passengers had left Jaffna before 11 August on personal business and were unable return due to the closure of A9 land route.
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Armed robberies escalate in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 October 2006, 22:14 GMT]
Masked gunmen robbed millions of rupees worth of jewelry and cash from civilian residences on Sunday and Monday nights inside the Batticaloa and Kattankudy Police limits, Police sources said.
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3 killed, 2 injured in Vavuniya bomb explosion

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 October 2006, 11:37 GMT]
A bomb concealed in a Dolphin van taken into custody by Vavuniya police 15 days ago exploded Tuesday around 12 noon, half an hour after being released, killing 3 civilians and seriously injuring 2 at Periyarkulam, Poonthottam in Vavuniya, said Mr. Chanthanayake, Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Vavuniya Police.


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Civilian injured in STF gun mishap in Karativu, Amparai

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 October 2006, 14:05 GMT]
A civilian was seriously injured when a Special Task Force (STF) trooper's gun accidentally went off at the Karativu junction Monday around 1:30 p.m. when the STF was engaged in street security operation on Akkaraipattu-Kalmunai road at Karaitivu in Amparai district. The injured man was first rushed to Kalmunai Ashrof Memorial hospital and then transferred to Kalmunai Base hospital.
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SLA reconnaissance unit repulsed in Muhamalai, 5 killed - Ilanthirayan

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 October 2006, 13:01 GMT]
A unit of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers, on a frontal reconnaissance mission, moved into the LTTE territory across Muhamalai Forward Defence Line (FDL) Sunday morning around 6:30 a.m., LTTE Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said. The SLA unit was repulsed into no-go zone, with at least five dead bodies, and the unit retreated leaving behind 3 weapons, he said. Meanwhile, residents in Jaffna said the SLA intensified Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) artillery fire towards LTTE territory Sunday evening.
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STF fires artillery shells into LTTE territory in Amparai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 October 2006, 10:35 GMT]
Sri Lankan Special Task Force troops in Kanjirankudah STF base intensified artillery fire towards Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Kanchikudichcharu, Vinayakapuram and Thankavelauthapuram areas Sunday evening at 3:00 p.m., LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said. Civilians in the LTTE controlled area were forced to flee and take refuge at safer locations.
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SLA preparing for Jaffna offensive, Tigers warn SLMM

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 16:30 GMT]
Heavy deployment of Sri Lankan armed forces is reported in Thenmaradchi and Vadamaradchi East along the Northern Front Saturday, LTTE sources said. The Peace Secretariat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Saturday night, in an urgent communiqué to the Head of SLMM, informed Sri Lanka's military build-up and urged the monitors to take immediate steps to visit Muhamalai FDL and confirm Sri Lanka's preparations for the offensive. LTTE's Political Head told TamilNet that LTTE is concerned of SLMM's limited access to Muhamalai. Unhindered access is vital for a fair and neutral judgement on the SLA offensive that will likely lead to a full-scale war, Thamilchelvan said.
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Colombo declines to receive bodies of dead soldiers, captured soldier talks to media

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 08:07 GMT]
The fighting formation of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) forces, "boxed" an area of 10 square kilometers and defeated Sri Lankan offensive towards Vaharai Friday, LTTE Trincomalee Political Head S. Elilan said Saturday. Accusing Sri Lanka for violating the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) and the Geneva Agreement of disarming the paramilitary cadres, Mr. Elian said 400 Sri Lankan troops, including 80 paramilitary cadres, were involved in the Sri Lankan offensive. K.M.S. Ratnayake, a soldier from Sri Lanka's 6th Battalion of Gemunu Watch, was captured alive by the Tigers. Colombo has refused to accept 9 bodies of SLA soldiers killed in the encounter, Mr. Elilan said.
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Three-pronged SLA offensive thwarted - Elilan

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2006, 13:40 GMT]
The Tiger forces repulsed a three-pronged Sri Lanka Army offensive on LTTE controlled Vaharai territory after a defensive fight that lasted for 11 hours, LTTE's Trincomalee District Political Head S. Elilan said. At least seven civilians were wounded in heavy SLA shelling towards civilian settlements. More than 30 SLA troopers were killed, and one wounded soldier was captured alive, Mr. Elilan said. The offensive was launched from Kajuwatte SLA camp, south of Vaharai towards Panichchankerni, from Sinhapura SLA camp 3 km inside the LTTE territory in Kattumurivu and Sri Lanka Navy attempted to land troops in Panichchankerni around 1:00 p.m., according to initial reports from Vaharai.
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SLA constructs new sentry points in Ariyalai

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2006, 11:41 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers from 51-4 brigade have strengthened the Ariyalai camp by constructing additional sentry points along Kanagaratnam Road and Chemmani Lane. Ten additional sentries have been erected this week, Ariyalai residents said.
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LTTE Defence Council discusses military situation - Ilanthirayan

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2006, 09:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army troopers, engaged in a new offensive, have moved north of Mankerni into Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled area in an offensive drive towards Panichchankerni, according to Tigers. "The Sri Lankan offensive has disregarded the assurances of ceasing all violence acts and the call by the International Community for talks," LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said. The Tigers have called on the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission to ensure monitoring access to the border areas where Sri Lankan forces were engaged in offensive acts. The Defence Council of the LTTE has been summoned to discusss the current development, he further said.
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SLA launches new offensive towards Vaharai

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2006, 05:21 GMT]
Sri Lankan forces have launched a new offensive towards Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Vaharai region Friday morning. Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops from Mankerni SLA camp advanced into LTTE controlled territory south of Vaharai with heavy artillery shelling, Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombardment and rocket fire from the Sri Lanka Navy gunboats, according to civilian sources. Thousands of civilians, most of them recently displaced from Trincomalee, were struggling to flee to safer areas. Civilian casualty figures are yet to be reported. "An inhumane war has been thrust upon 61,000 civilians," says Trincomalee District parliamentarian Thurairatnasingham.
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Emergency extension debate begins, TNA sit-in-protest continue in parliament

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2006, 16:21 GMT]
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Thursday tabled a motion in the parliament seeking the approval to extend the State of Emergency for another month while parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) continued their sit-in-protest in the well of the House for the sixth day demanding the immediate re-opening of the A-9 land route, the only gateway to the Jaffna district from rest of the country and lift the economic embargo on the Jaffna population.
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SLAF Kfir jets bomb Vadamaradchi East

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2006, 04:24 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers flew over Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Kudarappu in Vadamaradchi East and dropped at least nine bombs in the area around 9:15 a.m. Wednesday. Four Tsunami reconstructed houses were destroyed in the bombardment, according to residents.
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Civilians turn to SLHRC for protection amid death threats

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2006, 00:06 GMT]
More than 15 internally displaced families from Maduvil north in Thenmaradchchy complained that they have been receiving death threats from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), and sought protection from the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (SLHRC) Jaffna office, civil society sources in Jaffna said Tuesday. IDPs say they fear for their lives if they return to their homes in Thenmaradchy without security guarantees, the IDPs said.
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SLAF bombs Vanni as Special Envoy meets Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 October 2006, 11:07 GMT]
Three Kfir jet bombers of Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) flew over Vanni and attacked Pooneryn as Norwegian Special Envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer met the Liberation Tigers Political Head S. P. Thamilchelvan in Kilinochchi to discuss the modalities for creating a conducive environment for talks, LTTE sources in Kilinochchi said. Mr. Thamilchelvan told media after the meeting that Colombo was continuously engaged in "offensive aggression," despite the assurances given to the Norwegian facilitators following the call by the Co-Chairs to cease all violence. Tigers were still extending support to unconditional talks as urged by the International Community, the LTTE political head told TamilNet.
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Murunkan Police retaliates against attack, 1 killed, 4 civilians wounded

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 October 2006, 09:21 GMT]
Murunkan Police Tuesday said they retaliated a group of attackers who lobbed grenade and shot at two police checkposts behind the Murunkan Police station around 2:00 a.m. Four civilians, 2 family men and 2 teenage girls, in Murunkanpitty were wounded when Police fired mortar shells. Additional policemen, Special Task Force (STF) personnel and Sri Lanka Army troopers were rushed to the site. Troopers recovered the body of a youth with gunshot injuries which the Police claimed to be of a LTTE cadre.
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Tamil civilian shot dead in Killiveddy

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 October 2006, 07:57 GMT]
Unidentified armed persons shot dead a Tamil civilian at Bharathipuram in Killiveddy in Muttur division Saturday evening. He was identified as S.Thangarajah, 44 and labourer, police sources in Muthur said.
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Five civilians injured in SLA rocket fire in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 October 2006, 00:04 GMT]
Barrage of rockets fired by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) from Valaichenai Paper Factory and Murakodanchenai camps between 6:00 p.m and 7:40 p.m. Saturday have seriously injured five civilians including three women in the villages of Thihilivettai, Pondukalchenai, Navalpitty and Tharavai in LTTE-controlled northeast areas of Batticaloa district, sources said. The injured were rushed to the Medical Centre run by the LTTE where they are being treated, residents said.
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