Claymore explodes in Jaffna, SLA soldier killed in Muttur clash

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 April 2006, 11:33 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier, and a civilian were wounded in a Claymore explosion in Neerveli in Jaffna around 4:40 p.m. Saturday. The Claymore targeted an SLA truck, SLA sources in Jaffna said. In the meantime, sources in Colombo said one SLA soldier was killed in direct clash that erupted at Selvanagar in Thoppur in Muttur Division of the Trincomalee district around 1:45 p.m. Earlier on Saturday, a civilian was injured and several houses were damaged when SLA soldiers fired artillery shells from Kaddaiparichan army camp towards Ganeshapuram in Muttur east, according to reports reaching from LTTE controlled areas in Trincomalee district.
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Civilian injured, houses damaged in SLA shelling -Elilan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 April 2006, 07:22 GMT]
A civilian was injured and several houses were damaged when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers fired artillery from Kaddaiparichan army camp towards Ganeshapuram in Muttur east, around 8.20 a.m., Saturday, LTTE sources in the eastern town said.
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SL Parliament adjourned for May 9 following disruption by TNA MPs

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 April 2006, 08:44 GMT]
Sri Lanka's parliament was adjourned till May 9 following continued disruption of its proceedings by Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians protesting against the killings of Tamil civilians in the North East by the State armed forces in connivance with para military groups and the latest victim being Mr.V.Vanniyasingham, President of the Trincomalee District Tamil Peoples Forum shot dead on Thursday morning in front of his work place, Trincomalee main branch of the Bank of Ceylon (BoC).
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Two paramilitary cadres wounded in Panichchankerni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 April 2006, 18:23 GMT]
Two Karuna Group paramilitary cadres were wounded in Panichchankerni, 60 km north of Batticaloa, Wednesday around 5:30 p.m., when Liberation Tigers launched a counter-attack on the paramilitary cadres penetrating into the Liberation Tigers controlled area, eyewitnesses said. A key paramilitary operative, Chooty, wounded in his stomach was transported to the Kirimichchai SLA camp in a motorbike which the withdrawing paramilitary cadres hijacked from a civilian traveller.
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SLA arrests five family members in Vadamaradchy

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 April 2006, 13:59 GMT]
Several hundred Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers cordoned and searched Vadamaradchy areas close to the High Security Zone (HSZ) around 1st, 2nd and 3rd cross streets in Point Pedro Sunday early morning between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. and arrested five members of the same family and a boarding student, accusing them of hiding arms, sources in Point Pedro said.
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SLN, SLA violate ceasefire, Elilan tells SLMM

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 April 2006, 12:06 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) collaborating with paramilitaries had violated the ceasefire agreement in the LTTE controlled Muttur east and Vakarai area said Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Saturday. He lodged three separate complaints with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), sources said.


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Grenade explosion damages auto-rickshaw in Kathankudy

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 March 2006, 11:58 GMT]
An auto-rickshaw belonging to a muslim civilian in Kathankudy in Batticaloa was damaged when unknown assailants exploded a grenade under the vehicle at 4.45 a.m., Thursday, sources from Batticaloa said.
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SLN Muttur attacks endanger livelihood of fisher families

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 March 2006, 18:42 GMT]
Muttur Divisional Fishermen's Co-operative Societies Union (MDFCSU) said a statement released Sunday in Trincomalee that more than two thousand fisher families have seriously affected economically following attacks by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) on the coastal villages in the Muttur east.
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Fonseka claims credit for successful ‘retaliations’

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 March 2006, 01:46 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Army commander, Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, has claimed credit for a number of killings and disappearances of Tamil political activists in during the heightened violence in December and January. The Sunday Times quoted him as telling troops: “we bravely faced the situation and retaliated on those who attacked us. Thereafter we took a proactive role by looking for those who attacked us and retaliated in places like Jaffna and Batticaloa.”
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New SLMM Head meets Elilan in Sampoor

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 March 2006, 17:39 GMT]
Swedish Brigadier, Ulf Henricsson, who is to assume duties on 1st April as the new head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), met with Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head for the first time Saturday evening, sources in Trincomalee said. The discussions centered on the current ceasefire agreement, Geneva peace talks and future activities related to peace process, sources said.
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Hartal paralyzes Trincomalee town

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 March 2006, 19:12 GMT]
Normal life was disrupted in Trincomalee town Friday due to general shut down ('hartal') in response to the Trincomalee District 'Pongu Tamil Forum' (TDPTF) call demanding the government to lift ban on fishing in the northeast coast and to implement the Geneva agreement reached between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
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SLMM Trinco head meets Elilan in Sampoor

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 March 2006, 00:02 GMT]
Mr.Ove Jansen, new head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Trincomalee district, Tuesday morning met with Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and held discussions on the latest volatile situation in the Muttur east coastal villages which were attacked by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), LTTE sources in the eastern town said.
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Sinhala nationalist extremists obstacle to peace – Balasingham

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 20:21 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers will view any further attacks by military-backed paramilitaries as an act of war and may postpone next month’s talks in Geneva unless the state fulfils the Ceasefire Agreement and disarms them, the LTTE’s Political Strategist and Chief Negotiator, Mr. Anton Balasingham said Tuesday. In an interview to Reuters at his London home, Mr. Balasingham also said President Mahinda Rajapakse should dump his Sinhala nationalist allies and seek support from the main opposition UNP party which led a government that held six rounds of talks with the LTTE in 2002-3.
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Firefight in Vadamaradchy East SLA checkpoint

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 11:43 GMT]
Unknown gunmen fired at a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) sentry point in Aarangkattai in Vadamaradchy east at noon Wednesday, sources in Point Pedro said. SLA troopers returned fire but the gunmen escaped from their positions inside the adjoining casuarina forest, sources added. The SLA 52-4 Brigade said that no SLA soldiers were injured in the attack.
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TNA MP condemns SLN attacks on Muttur coastal villages

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 March 2006, 17:55 GMT]
Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham, Trincomalee district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian in a statement issued on Tuesday condemned the continued attack by the Sri Lanka Navy on the coastal villages Soodaikuda, Koonitivu, Sampoor and Kadatkaraichchenai for the second day Tuesday from about 11 a.m. Two students of the Sampoor Maha Vidiyalayam are reported injured in the second day attack by the SLN, according to reports he received from Muttur east civilian sources, Mr.Thurairatnasingham said.
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SLMM monitors inspect areas affected by SLN attack

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 March 2006, 19:43 GMT]
Monitors of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Trincomalee town Monday afternoon visited the coastal villages Sampoor, Koonitivu, Soodaikuda and Kadatkaraichchenai which came under attack by the Dvora gunboatsand water jets of the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and inspected the damages caused to several houses of civilians, sources said.
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SLAF trooper drowns in Galkissa

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 March 2006, 10:47 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) officer, engaged in training exercises Monday morning, accidentally fell in the sea off Mt. Lavinia during a search and rescue exercise, Police said. The incident took place one km into the sea off Mt. Lavinia, Galkissa, located 11 km south of Colombo.
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SLN attacks Muttur east coastal villages -Elilan

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 March 2006, 08:32 GMT]
A Dvora and two water jets of the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) have been firing towards the coastal villages Sampoor, Soodaikuda, Koonitivu and Kadatkaraichchenai in the Liberation Tigers held Muttur east in the Trincomalee district from Monday morning around 11 a.m. "Firing is still going on with interruptions and several civilian houses have been damaged. Casualties are not known as it was early to assess the loss of lives and other damages," said Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
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Valaichenai protests against student abductions

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 15 March 2006, 11:19 GMT]
Valaichenai-wide hartal was observed and Valaichenai Hindu College in Batticaloa was closed Wednesday as protesters demanded the release of students, Jeyaraj Kirisanth and Suthaharan Kulosan, who were abducted by paramilitary cadres two days ago, sources in Batticaloa said. All public institutions, shops, banks, and hospitals were closed and the streets were deserted. Security was strengthened with increased police patrols and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers deployed at several key junctions, sources added.
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EPDP, Karuna Group and PLOTE amongst paramilitaries - US State Dept

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 March 2006, 01:32 GMT]
Commenting, amongst other abuses, on the numerous killings in Sri Lanka’s northeast last year, the US State Department’s 2006 annual human rights report blamed “paramilitary forces” as well as the Liberation Tigers for “politically motivated killings” and singled out three paramilitary groups – the Karuna Group, EPDP and PLOTE – for criticism. The State Department said many of those killed by the LTTE were members of the anti-LTTE paramilitary groups and informants for the security forces.
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