Sri Lanka Navy Commander visits Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 September 2006, 06:01 GMT]
Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, Vice Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, visited Thursday Northern Naval Area Command in Karainagar and inspected the SLN installations Elara at Karainagar, Uttara in Kankesanthurai (KKS) and the key officers of the six shore establishements. The SLN commander also visted Mandaithivu's Allaipiddy area where around 40 civilians were reported killed or missing in Sri Lankan artillery fire 3 weeks ago when the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) marines entered Mandaithivu. Food supplies to Jaffna islets would be transported by Sri Lanka Navy, the navy commander told a civilian audience.
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Policeman, civilian injured in gunfire in Mannar

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 September 2006, 10:34 GMT]
A Sri Lanka policeman was injured when unidentified men fired at the policeman Wednesday evening around 6.15 p.m. at Uppukulam in Mannar town. The injured police constable was identified as Upali Bandara, a member of the Police Intelligence Unit.
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Civilians flee Jaffna islet of Velanai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 September 2006, 09:09 GMT]
Hundreds of people from the Jaffna Islet of Velanai, began fleeing towards Jaffna town, Wednesday, for safety as anonymous posters requesting the people to move to safer areas appeared Wednesday overnight.
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"White van" squad kills 2 civilians, wounds 2 in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 September 2006, 02:27 GMT]
Gunmen riding in a white van without a number plate shot dead two civilians in Jaffna Wednesday. A civilian shopping at a grocery in Thirunelvely and a young man who owns a video shop on Adiyapatham lane in the same area were the victims. Two civilians were seriously wounded and rushed to Jaffna hospital. Fear psychosis prevails in Jaffna following the resurfacing of "white van" squads and the increased number of extra-judicial killings by Sri Lanka Army men in civil cloths.
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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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Women protestors in Jaffna urge re-opening of A9

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 September 2006, 17:41 GMT]
More than 600 women gathered in front of the main entrance to the Government Secretariat in Jaffna Wednesday morning at 10:30 demanding immediate action to arrange safe passage out of Jaffna for over 11,000 persons from other districts and foreign countries trapped in the peninsula.
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STF offensive in Amparai thwarted - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 September 2006, 15:32 GMT]
An offensive launched by the Sri Lanka Special Task Force (STF) troopers Wednesday morning from Kanjirankudah STF camp in Amparai district towards the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Kanchikudicharu area, was repulsed by the Tigers, said LTTE's Military Spokesman I. Ilanthirayan. According to medical sources in Amparai, at least 18 STF and paramilitary men were killed, and more than 25 wounded in the STF offensive.
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No peace moves until Colombo respects CFA borders - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 September 2006, 11:52 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government’s aggression on LTTE-controlled territory has blocked progress towards peace, the Liberation Tigers told Norwegian facilitators Wednesday. The LTTE’s Political Head, S. P. Thamilchelvan, told Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar that Colombo’s invasion and occupation of LTTE-held territory has put an end to peaceful ways of stabilising the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA). Sri Lankan jets overflew Kilinochchi as Mr. Brattskar met Mr. Thamilchelvan.
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Extra-judicial killings escalate in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 September 2006, 10:17 GMT]
62 individuals including Newspaper Manager Sivamaharajah, ex- Member of Parliament and 2 undergraduates were killed, and 53 civilians including a Catholic Priest and 10 students below the age of 18 have disappeared in Jaffna Peninsula in 35 days since August 02. The International agencies present in Jaffna are yet to voice their concerns for the increased dissappearances of children in Sri Lanka Army controlled Jaffna district, according to civil society leaders in Jaffna.
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Uyilankulam check point in Mannar temporarily reopened

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 September 2006, 08:54 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Tuesday morning around 11.15 a.m. temporarily re-opened its entry check point located at Uyilankulam for the first time and allowed civilians to travel to and from government controlled and LTTE held villages in the Mannar district. Those civilians stranded more than 20 days on both sides were allowed to go to their destinations, civil sources said.


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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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Humanitarian crisis precipitated by twin-track strategy

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 September 2006, 22:03 GMT]
An estimated 60,000 Tamils displaced by Sri Lankan military attacks in the eastern province are caught in a humanitarian crisis which aid workers say is being deliberately deepened by the Colombo government. The most recent displacements in the east join tens of thousands of people forced to flee their homes by military attacks in Wanni and the northern Jaffna.
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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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Three Tamil youths arrested in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 September 2006, 17:02 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army 23-3 Brigade troopers handed over Tuesday 3 civilians who were arrested in a boat in the Batticaloa lagoon Monday around 5:00 p.m., Batticaloa Police said.
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3 killed, 9 injured, multi-barrel rockets hit Kathiraveli

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 September 2006, 15:21 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army fired Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher shells hit Kathiraveli, 10 km north of Vaharai, where Internally Displaced People from Muthur East and Eacchilampatru have sought refuge. 3 civilians were killed, 9 wounded, according to LTTE officials in Kathiraveli. Medical sources in Batticaloa reported that ICRC personnel transported at least 2 wounded civlians to Valaichenai hospital. The MBRL attack on Tuesday on Kathiramalai in Batticaloa district's north, comes amid speculation by analysts in Colombo that Sri Lankan military was planning another offensive towards southern Trincomalee and northern Batticaloa areas where thousands of IDP's have taken refuge.
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SL Navy arrests more fleeing Tamil civilians

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 September 2006, 05:38 GMT]
Another batch of 20 Talaimannar civilians while fleeing to South India to seek refuge was taken into custody by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) on Monday morning. Two boatmen who are residents of Talaimannar were also taken into custody. Later they were handed over to Talaimannar Police for further inquiry.
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3 civilians killed, 2 children, mother wounded in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 September 2006, 19:57 GMT]
Motorbike riding Sri Lanka Army (SLA) men in civil clothes shot and killed three civilians in three separate shootings in Jaffna Monday. An owner of a garage 100 meters away from an SLA sentry point in Stanley Road in Jaffna, a devotee returning home from Thurkai Amman Temple festival was gunned down at Maruthanarmadam Junction and a painter was shot dead in Uduppidy in Vadamaradchi. Two 8-year-old children and a mother wounded in the shootings were admitted to Jaffna hospital.
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7 mutilated bodies buried in Allaipiddy

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 September 2006, 12:34 GMT]
Seven more mutilated bodies of civilians killed in artillery fire in Allaipiddy 20 days ago, were photographed and burried Monday at the presence of Jaffna District Magistrate, E. T. Vignarajah. Around 40 civilians were reportedly killed in Allaipiddy. So far, 25 deaths have been verified by humanitarian and legal sources. Relatives of 12 more civilian victims have appealed to the Jaffna regional office of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka seeking help to remove the bodies lying inside the houses located in Ward No: 4 of Allaipiddy. Sri Lanka Navy is not allowing any civilians to enter Allaipaiddy. There are more bodies, lying along the coast, according to the latest civilian reports.
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Rajapakse hails Sampoor ‘capture’

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 September 2006, 08:20 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops have advanced into Sampur village in the LTTE-controlled part of the eastern Trincomalee district and are consolidating their positions, the government said Monday in Colombo. LTTE political officials in Trincomalee said fighting was ongoing in the Sampoor region. “This is a severe breach of the ceasefire agreement with the Sri Lankan military taking LTTE-controlled areas,” S. Puleedevan, head of the LTTE peace secretariat, told Reuters. “They are not honoring the ceasefire agreement. They are forcing it to the brink of collapse,” he added. “On our side we are fully committed to it.”
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3 Tamil civilians shot dead in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 September 2006, 06:55 GMT]
Paramilitary gunmen attached to the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) located in Valaichenai fisheries harbour, rounded up Pethalai and Pattiyadichenai in Valaichchenai-Kalkudah police division in Batticaloa district shot and killed three Tamil civilians in the area between 7 and 9:30 p.m. Sunday.
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