DPU attack kills 2 civilians in Vanni

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 August 2008, 03:49 GMT]
A 15-year-old boy and a 33-year-old vegetable trader were killed on the spot at Olumadu Thursday evening when a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Deep Penetration Unit triggered four Claymore mines targeting the grocery traders who were riding in a motorbike towards Nedungkea'ni in Mullaiththeevu district, Tamileelam Police said. The attack came a few hours before the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) dropped leaflets instructing the people of Vanni to move out of the LTTE controlled areas to Vavuniyaa.
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Grenade explodes in Batticaloa prison, EPDP members wounded

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 August 2008, 03:31 GMT]
Seven EPDP persons were seriously wounded and rushed to Batticaloa hospital after a hand-grenade explosion inside their cell in the Batticaloa Prison Friday morning around 5:00 a.m., Police said.
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200 SLA soldiers in hospital with food poisoning in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 August 2008, 09:08 GMT]
About two hundred recruits of the Sri Lanka Army were rushed to hospital Thursday morning in the Dehiyatakandiya training camp of the SLA in Ampaa'rai district after taking their breakfast with fish. Some of the SLA recruits are in critical condition, according to medical sources.
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Electricity transformer fired upon in Thenmaraadchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 August 2008, 16:55 GMT]
Unidentified armed men opened rapid fire Monday during curfew hours on an electricity transformer at Kachchaay, Kodikaamam in Thenmaraadchi causing damages to it. Electricity supply was cut off in the area and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched a cordon and search Tuesday in the area, covering the triangular area between Kodikaamam, Chaavakachcheari and Kachchaay, sources in Thenmaraadchi said.
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TID questioned Ganesan on his visits to Ki'linochchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 August 2008, 14:08 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) on Tuesday questioned Civil Monitoring Commission Convener and Western Peoples Front Leader Mano Ganesan for six hours from 11:00 a.m. The questions were based on his peace delegation visits to Ki'linochchi during the CFA period between 2002 and 2004. The TID wanted to know if he had developed any 'special relationship' with the LTTE during the these visits. Mano Ganesan has vehemently refused any 'special relationship' with LTTE and any link with any arrested 'terrorist suspects', according to a statement released Wednesday by his office in Colombo.
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SLA Claymore attack kills refugee in Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 August 2008, 12:09 GMT]
A civilian was killed and three wounded when a group of Internally Displaced Persons, who were riding in a tractor in Thu'nukkaay, were attacked by the Sri Lanka Army Deep Penetration Unit Wednesday morning around 10:00, according to Tamileelam Police.
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Tamil Diaspora must act to prevent humanitarian tragedy - MP

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 August 2008, 09:39 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Member of Parliament from Jaffna District, Selvarajah Gajendran, on Tuesday, urged the Tamil Diaspora to provide assistance to local aid agencies working among the IDPs in Vanni and to campaign in their host countries to exert pressure on the GoSL to remove restrictions on the transport of emergency supplies to Vanni and urge the International Community to support the Tamil people's right to live in peace in their homeland. The Sri Lankan government has ordered Government Agents to operate from Vavuniyaa and has actively discouraged even UN agencies from entering Vanni, the MP said.
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Catholic commission in Vanni highlights IDPs plight

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 August 2008, 00:19 GMT]
Amid pouring rain and thundering blasts of artillery and mortar shells, more than 170,000 Internally Displaced Persons in Vanni are facing a great human tragedy, which is calculatedly concealed from the world outside, said Rev. Fr. James Pathinathan, the president of the Vanni branch of the Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jaffna, in an urgent appeal to the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, on Tuesday. "If the International Community doesn't act at once, it will be too late," he told TamilNet after handing over the memorandum to the Residential Representative of the UNHCR in Vanni.
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LTTE air strike on Trincomalee harbour - SLN

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 August 2008, 16:26 GMT]
Heavy explosions rocked the Trincomalee Harbour around 9:00 p.m. Tuesday and again at midnight. The Sri Lanka Navy sources have confirmed that at least one LTTE aircraft had dropped bombs, but refused to comment on the casualty details. Tension prevailed in Trincomalee town Tuesday night from about 9.05 onwards as Sri Lankan forces surrounding the Sri Lanka Navy headquarters located along the Trincomalee harbor continuously fired towards sky for about half an hour following the alleged attack. The city was deserted. 11 Sri Lankan soldiers have been admitted at Trincomalee hospital. Explosions were heard again at midnight.
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SLA restrictions affect cattle owners, farmers in Batticaloa district

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 August 2008, 09:56 GMT]
Cattle owners and farmers in Koara'laipattu South, Ea'raavoorpattu and Chengkaladi divisions of Batticaloa district have appealed to their respective Divisional Secretaries and Batticaloa Government Agent to help lift Sri Lanka Army (SLA) imposed restrictions in engaging in their livelihoods of dairy farming and agriculture. A threatening situation prevails in the remote villages of Batticaloa, especially against the cattle ownrs, as SLA soldiers manning the posts in Paduvaankarai region have stepped up deployment along jungle tracks and cattle posts used by cattle herders.
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Male corpse washed ashore along Jaffna lagoon

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 August 2008, 09:36 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers in their sentry post along Jaffna lagoon on finding a male corpse with gun shot wounds washed ashore Monday morning informed Jaffna police, sources in Jaffna said. Jaffna Magistrate, Vasanthasenan, who visited the site held inquiries and directed the police to hand over the corpse to Jaffna Teaching Hospital mortuary.
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Devotees reported missing in Jaffna HSZ

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 August 2008, 09:11 GMT]
A 27-year-old Public Health Inspector and his 34-year-old friend who were among the devotees, allowed to enter Ponnaalai Varadarajah Perumaa'l temple inside the Sri Lanka Army High Security Zone (HSZ) at the entrance to the Kaarainakar island in Jaffna, have been reported missing on Sunday.
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Hand grenade lobbed at the house of Eastern Province Councilor

[TamilNet, Sunday, 24 August 2008, 15:56 GMT]
Unidentified men hurled a hand grenade Sunday early morning 2:00 a.m. at the residence of Eastern Province Council (EPC) member, S.M.Zubhair Hadjiar located along Ea'raavoor Girls School and bolted away. The grenade fell within the premises of the home close to the entrance and exploded. Zubhair escaped unhurt in the explosion and the house was undamaged.
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2 SLA soldiers killed, 2 injured in Vadamaraadchi

[TamilNet, Sunday, 24 August 2008, 09:48 GMT]
A group of unidentified armed men opened fire and hurled hand grenades on the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camps in Yaakkarai and Kalikai areas in Karaveddi in Vadamraadchi Saturday midnight killing two soldiers and seriously injuring two, sources in Jaffna said. Thousands of SLA troops deployed in the above area launched a cordon and search operation, immediately after the attack, that continued till Sunday evening.
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233 families allowed to resettle in no-man zone in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 24 August 2008, 07:23 GMT]
The committee appointed by Colombo Supreme Court to explore into the possibility of resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in areas inside Sri Lanka Army (SLA) High Security Zone (HSZ) in Valikaamam north met Saturday around 3:30 p.m in Palaali SLA Head Quarters and decided to allow resettlement in the first stage only in areas outside the HSZ within the 600 meter distance of no-man’s area, contrary to the hopes of the applicants for resettlement inside the HSZ, now occupied by the SLA.
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Sri Lanka to court-martial army deserters

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 August 2008, 21:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) high command has warned that deserters who fail to respond to the amnesty period are to be arrested and court-martialed. Twelve thousand army deserters have failed to surrender to the SLA during the amnesty period. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara has told media that eight thousand youths are to be recruited afresh to the volunteer force and other units of the SLA.
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Thenmaraadchi farmer seeks refuge with HRC

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 August 2008, 19:19 GMT]
A 27-year-old farmer from Thenmaraadchi sought refuge Friday with Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna office due to death threats by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and SLA-backed paramilitary men. HRC officials took steps to place the farmer in the protective custody of Jaffna Prison.
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45 disappear in Jaffna in 8 months

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 August 2008, 16:26 GMT]
Statistics gathered by Government and Non-government humanitarian organizations in Jaffna revealed that more than 45 persons, most of them less than 30-years old, had gone missing in the first eight months of 2008, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, during a meeting held Sunday with SLA Jaffna Commander in Kaangkeasanththu’rai, representatives of civil society organizations accused Sri Lanka Army (SLA) for the worsening human rights situation, for imposing undue restrictions on travel, interference in civil administration, and for placing harsh restrictions on fishing affecting livelihoods of many fishermen, attendees to the meeting said.
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EUSL suspends educational activities

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 August 2008, 09:59 GMT]
Eastern University Vice-chancellor Dr. V. Pathmanathan on Friday suspended all educational activities temporarily and made arrangements to send the Sinhalese students in the university safely to Polonnaruwa district first and from there to their homes, on instructions from the University Grant Commission (UGC), the VC said. The UGC has taken this decision after consulting the local heads of the government armed forces after a Sinhalese student was shot and killed Thursday by unidentified armed men.
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Sinhala student shot dead at Eastern University

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 August 2008, 18:14 GMT]
A final-year student from Kurunagala, studying at the Eastern University of Sri Lanka (EUSL) at Vanthaa'rumoolai was shot and killed by unknown armed men Thursday around 9:15 p.m. Ea'raavoor Police said they were investigating whether the killing had any connection to an incident in which a Tamil girl was allegedly ragged at the EUSL, a few days ago.
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