Eachchilampathu IDPs face dire shortage of food

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 August 2006, 03:18 GMT]
About 12 thousand internally displaced Tamils from 2956 families trapped in LTTE held villages in Eachchilampathu division in the Trincomalee district following continuous aerial bombardment and artillery fire directed by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) from its military installations in east port town and its suburbs have been facing starvation as food and essential materials are not supplied by non-governmental organizations and the government agencies since the fighting broke out, civil sources said.
Full story >>

"Let civilians flee, allow relief through" - UNHCR

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 August 2006, 13:36 GMT]
"Some 15,000 to 20,000 people are now displaced in the Killinochchi area as a result of repeated [Sri Lankan] artillery shelling and air strikes," the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said this week. Calling on the Colombo government and the Liberation Tigers "to urgently allow aid workers free access to all parts of the island so that vital supplies can reach those cut off by fighting," UNHCR appealed for them "to permit freedom of movement to all civilians displaced by their conflict." Since April UNHCR says 162,000 people have become internally displaced, while 7,439 have become refugees in Tamil Nadu.
Full story >>

SL Navy arrests Tamils fleeing to Tamil Nadu, Indian trawler seized

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 August 2006, 13:08 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy Saturday night arrested about 85 Tamil civilians including men, women and children fleeing in an Indian fishing trawler to seek refuge in Tamilnadu in India. The SLN sailors seized the Indian trawler with its three member crew all are Indian nationals in mid sea from the coast of Mannar.
Full story >>

Uyilankulam, Madhu check points' closure affects Tamil civilians

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 August 2006, 13:06 GMT]
Since the closure of Uyilankulam and Madhu checkpoints in Mannar district by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) from August 11 acute shortage for food, fuel and medicine is prevailing in LTTE held villages located in the divisions of Manthai West and Madhu as transport of such items is not allowed through these checkpoints.
Full story >>

Colombo aggravates humanitarian crisis in NorthEast – NGO forum head

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 August 2006, 15:32 GMT]
Head of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) forum in Kilinochchi, Mr Ganesapillai, speaking at a press conference Wednesday accused the Sri Lankan government of deliberately blocking food and other supplies to civilians living in Vanni and Jaffna. "The Sri Lankan Army (SLA) is not allowing supply vehicles to pass through the check posts located at the entry points to the Vanni region. Governments agents for Jaffna, Kilinochchi, and Mullaitivu have requested the GOSL to instruct the SLA to open the roads so that all supplies can pass through to civilians in Vanni and Jaffna but the Colombo Government has been withholding issueing such directive," said Mr.Ganesapillai.
Full story >>

GoSL's aid delivery, inequitable - Rev. Dr. Jeyanesan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 August 2006, 13:34 GMT]
Sri Lankan government does not treat alike the people of all communities, affected in war and Tsunami, in connection with relief distribution, and the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) is deliberately creating barriers to effective functioning of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in delivering relief to the affected, said Rev. Dr. Jeyanesan, the Coordinator of South Indian Missionary for Batticaloa District.
Full story >>

Police attacked in Vavuniya, two AK rifles recovered

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 August 2006, 13:04 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen fired at a police party at Kurumankadu in front of Kalaimagal pre-school, about 1 k.m. west of Vavuniya on the Mannar road, around 1 p.m., Saturday. Two AK rifles were recoved during the susequent search operation in the area, police said.
Full story >>

Paduvankarai faces misery

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 August 2006, 12:20 GMT]
Tamil people living in LTTE controlled Paduvankarai area in Batticaloa District face starvation and danger of health hazards due to the closure of all the entry points to the LTTE controlled area from Military controlled Eluvankarai area by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) from 12 August, local residents said. "This act of collective punishment by the SLA has affected mostly the poorest civilians in the LTTE-controlled areas in Batticaloa," civil society sources in Batticaloa said.
Full story >>

SLN slaps restrictions on civilian movement from Jaffna Islets

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 August 2006, 11:28 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) has barred all members except one in each family to travel to Jaffna mainland from Jaffna Islets from noon Friday, residents of Kayts said. Hundreds of families who were planning to relocate to areas in Jaffna mainland seeking safety are prevented from relocating even though the Security Forces have lifted the curfew for five hours from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m.
Full story >>

Valaichenai civilian shot dead, body of youth found in Kallady

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 August 2006, 07:58 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen Friday night around 8.45 p.m. shot dead a Tamil civilian at Vinayagapuram in Valaichchenai police division about 32 km off north of Batticaloa town. The victim has been identified as Poopalapillai Koneswaran, 45, a father of four children. Meanwhile, a multilated body with stab wounds in the neck and abdomen was found in near clock tower Saturday at 6:00 a.m in Kallady, Batticaloa by kattankudy police division, police sources said.
Full story >>

Thousand civilians enter LTTE held Vanni region

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 August 2006, 15:48 GMT]
Stranded Tamil civilians in Vavuniya town for about six days were allowed to travel through Omanthai check point to the LTTE held districts of Killinochchi, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya North division in the Vavuniya district Friday. The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) reopened the Vavuniya-Omanthai check point Friday afternoon around 2.30 p.m for limited hours due to combined effort taken by Mr.Kishore Sivanathan, Vanni district parliamentarian and officials of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and Vavuniya district secretariat.
Full story >>

SLAF bombers destroy tsunami-boat yard

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 August 2006, 14:22 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers bombed and destroyed a boat yard, at Nellian in the Vadamaradchi East, around noon, Friday . The boat yard was built in February 2005 under 'Back to Sea' project, a Post Tsunami Rapid Rehabilitation Development Service, to help fishermen affected by 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. Two workers were wounded in the attack. The boat yard was funded by the Norwegian and Malaysian branches of Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO).
Full story >>

SLA allows travelling to Batticaloa LTTE areas for limited hours

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 August 2006, 14:08 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Friday agreed to relax the ban on travelling for limited hours to areas held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Batticaloa district following repeated requests made by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to President Mahinda Rajapakse, TNA sources said.
Full story >>

SLA re-opens Omanthai checkpoint for stranded civilians to travel

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 August 2006, 09:47 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army Friday afternoon around 2 p.m. re-opened the Vavuniya Omanthai check point enabling stranded civilians in Vavuniya town to travel to their areas in the LTTE held Wanni region. About eight hundred Tamil civilians including around 260 public servants had been stranded in Vavuniya since the closure of Vavuniya-Omanthai check point, sources said.
Full story >>

SLA arrests 16 Tamil civilians in Chavakachcheri

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 August 2006, 09:20 GMT]
Sixteen Tamil civilians were arrested by soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) when they were conducting a cordon and search operation in Chavakachcheri town and its suburbs Allarai, Periyamawadi, Kappachchi Mavadi and Kovilkuddiruppu Thursday afternoon from 12.30 p.m. till 4.30 p.m. About five thousand civilians were taken to Chavakachcheri Hindu College and were produced before a masked man who identified these sixteen civilians. They were detained in the Varani SLA camp. Relations of the arrested civilians immediately lodged complaints with the Jaffna regional office of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), civilians sources said.
Full story >>

Kfir jets fly over Vanni

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 August 2006, 08:02 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir jets were observed at high altitude over Kilinochchi around 1:00 p.m. Friday.
Full story >>

SLN denies civilian movement to Jaffna Islets

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 August 2006, 07:48 GMT]
Sri Lankan Navy (SLN) guarding the Pannai Causeway, which connects Jaffna town with the islet villages of Mandaithivu, Allaippiddy, Mankumban and Kayts, continued to deny permission to internally displaced people to move to or from Jaffna town, civil society sources said.
Full story >>

Canada must break silence on atrocities in Sri Lanka - Albina Guarnieri

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 August 2006, 19:12 GMT]
It is time Canada sent a forceful message to the Sri Lankan Government that it must now be held to account for a long series of atrocities by its military, said Albina Guarnieri, Member of Canadian Parliament and a former Minister of Veterans Affairs, in a press statement issued on Tuesday.
Full story >>

Hartal in Mannar, demonstration in Musali condemning students' massacre

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 August 2006, 15:06 GMT]
General shut down and demonstration was held in Mannar district Thursday condemning the killing of students in Puthukudiruppu Sencholai children home and Tamil civilians elsewhere in the North East by aerial bombardment carried out by Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) and artillery fire by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), sources said.
Full story >>

Stranded Tamil civilians in Vavuniya demand opening of A9 highway

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 August 2006, 12:30 GMT]
About six hundred Tamil civilians stranded in Vavuniya due to the closure of Vavuniya-Omanthai Sri Lanka Army (SLA) check point Thursday morning held a protest in front of the office of the Vavuniya District Secretariat demanding that they should be sent to their villages and towns in the districts of Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Killinochchi, sources said.
Full story >>