2 persons arrested in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 June 2008, 13:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police launched a cordon and search operation Friday from 8:00 a.m till 1:00 p.m. in Koaddamunai public market, Bus stand and some streets in Batticaloa town. Two persons have been arrested on suspicion in the search.
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2 SLA soldiers shot dead in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 June 2008, 12:37 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot and killed two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers at Pa'raiyanaalangku'lam in Vavuniyaa Friday around 1:00 p.m., police said.
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Protection-seeker shot dead in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 June 2008, 06:25 GMT]
Armed men stopped a prison vehicle Friday morning, identified a youth who had been placed under humanitarian protective custody, and opened fire, killing two victims, near Punnaalaikkadduvan High Security Zone area while they were being transported with other prisoners to Point Pedro courts, according to initial reports. One of the victims, S. Leptinraj, was alleged to be involved in the killing of Ms. Maheswary Velayutham, Eelam Peoples’ Democratic Party (EPDP) Key advisor, on May 13 in Kareveddi in Vadmaraadchi. Mr. Leptinraj and his sister had sought protection one week after their parents and a brother were abducted and a cousin shot and killed in Karaveddi.
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Time bomb recovered near Anuradhapura bus stand

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 June 2008, 22:34 GMT]
A time bomb wrapped in a parcel was recovered Wednesday afternoon by the police in close proximity of the Anuradhapura bus stand and a branch of the commercial bank on receipt of information from a member of the public, Sri Lankan police said.
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3 Tamils abducted, youth reported missing in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 June 2008, 13:40 GMT]
Unidentified armed men in civil clothes abducted Wednesday around 10:30 p.m. the manager of a lodge in Kotahena while a family man was abducted the same night by a gang of armed men arriving at his house in Kotahena. In the third abduction, three men in police uniform and one in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) uniform abducted Monday an elderly man from his house in Wattala, sources in Colombo said. Meanwhile, a Tamil youth from Kotahena is reported missing from his home since Tuesday, according to the complaint made by his relatives to Kottahena police.
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SLA deployment beefed up in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 June 2008, 11:16 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army has been increasing deployment of fresh troops along the Forward Defence Lines with the supply of military hardware. The coastal stretches along the Jaffna lagoon have also been strengthened jointly by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and the SLA. Extended hours of curfew and increased restrictions on vehicular and civilian movement, blocking all crossings across the main roads, have caused tension among the residents of Jaffna. Additional troops have been brought to Jaffna city within the past 24 hours.
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Veteran Tamil civil servant Sangaravel passes away

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 June 2008, 23:53 GMT]
Veteran civil servant and renowned social worker Poopalapillai Sangaravel, former Additional Government Agent of Batticaloa passed away Monday night in London, succumbing to heart failure four days before his 79th birthday. He is remembered with gratitude for his committed, relentless and yeoman service to the people of the Eastern Province for a long time. He was a well-wisher of TamilNet and readily helped it on many occasions with consultancies related to the Eastern Province. TamilNet joins the multitudes of mourners in paying tributes to him and conveying condolences to his bereaved family members.
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19 SLA killed in Vavuniyaa fighting - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 June 2008, 22:07 GMT]
19 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers, including a Lance Corporal, were killed and 23 soldiers were wounded when Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) fighters at the Kugnchukku'lam Forward Defence Line in Vavuniyaa district put up heavy resistance confronting a multi-frontal attempt by the SLA to break into LTTE territory, according to LTTE officials in Vanni. Two Tiger fighters were killed in the counter-attack.
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Jaffna SLA Command announces security measures to Tamil dailies

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 June 2008, 17:28 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Jaffna Commander, Major. Gen. G. A. Chandrasiri, informed the representatives of the editorial boards of the three Tamil dailies Uthayan, Valampuri and Yaazh Thinakkural published in Jaffna peninsula that the SLA has taken steps to provide police and SLA security measures for the offices of the three Tamil dailies, in a meeting held Wednesday at the SLA Head Quarters in Palaali High Security Zone.
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22 Tamil youths arrested in Colombo suburb

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 June 2008, 12:51 GMT]
22 Tamil youths were arrested Wednesday in Dehiwala, a suburb of Colombo, during a pre-dawn cordon and search operation by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Police. The arrested Tamils were being detained at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) at Kalkissa (Mount Lavinia) police station for questioning, Police said.
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"Tamil eelam, not a hastily concocted concept"- Balakumaran

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 June 2008, 01:05 GMT]
Balakumaran, Senior member of the Liberation Tigers, during an interview to an Australian Tamil Broadcasting Corporation (ATBC) said that while support of the international community is necessary for achieving the goal of liberation, Tamil people should clearly understand that policies of the International community towards different nationalist struggles are often inconsistent and motivated by self-interest. He added that listening to other people’s dictates, and compromising the ideals only reflect the weakness of a liberation struggle, and expressed confidence on the strength and resilience of the Tamil people to confront obstacles in the marathon towards liberation.
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Sea Tigers raid key SLN camp in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 June 2008, 22:18 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) naval wing, the Sea Tigers, launched a surprise attack on Sri Lanka Navy camp at Erukkalampiddi in Mannaar in the early hours of Wednesday, brought the installation under their control and have seized the arms and military equipments, including a radar, LTTE officials in Vanni told TamilNet. The operation was carried out by Marine Commandos, a special forces unit of the Sea Tigers. The Tigers have seized a 50-caliber machine gun, 81 mm mortars, Light Machine Guns, Rocket Launchers and several other military hardware from the camp, the Tigers said.
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Sri Lanka government orders closure of state schools for two days

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 June 2008, 18:04 GMT]
Sri Lankan Government Tuesday ordered the closure of all state schools in the island on June 11 and June 12 following the threat by the teacher trade unions that their members would go on strike on these days demanding a salary increase.
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SLA shoots dead 3 men in Addaa’laichcheanai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 June 2008, 17:06 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops shot and killed two men Tuesday around 9:00 a.m in a joint cordon and search operation with police in Addaa’laichcheanai area in Akkaraipattu police division in Ampaa’rai district, and another man around 1:00 p.m. in a paddy field west of Addaa’laichcheanai, according to Akkaraipattu police. The police claimed that the three were members of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and that the two shot dead in the first incident had hurled a hand grenade on SLA troops during the search, and SLA fired at the third man when he tried to escape.
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Fear mounts in costal villages of Jaffna lagoon

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 June 2008, 13:19 GMT]
Shells across Jaffna lagoon from Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held areas fell and exploded Tuesday morning on Sri Lanka Army (SLA) bases and sentry points located in the coastal villages of Jaffna lagoon causing panic also among the residents, sources in Jaffna said. Large number of additional soldiers were brought from other areas in Jaffna peninsula and posted along the coastal line of the lagoon from Jaffna Fort to Ariyaalai during the last couple of days.
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Vavuniyaa Inter school sports competition indefinitely postponed

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 June 2008, 11:37 GMT]
A sports competition for the students of a number of schools within the Northern provincial council scheduled to be held in Vauniyaa has been postponed indefinitely due to security concerns, Trincomalee based Northern Province Ministry of Education announced in a media communiqué released Monday.
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SLAF fighter jets bomb LTTE FDL in Mukamaalai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 June 2008, 11:22 GMT]
Four Sri Lanka Air Force Kfir fighter jets jointly bombed the Front Defence Line (FDL) positions of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Mukamaalai Tuesday around 8:00 a.m. after circling over Jaffna peninsula for quite a long time, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, SLAF spokesperson Janaka Nanayakara told media that a second air raid was launched on the LTTE FDL at 3:00 p.m. in the evening.
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4 SLA killed, 9 wounded in Vavuniyaa fighting - LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 June 2008, 15:20 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on Monday attempted to break through Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Forward Defence Line three times at Paalamoaddai in Vavuniyaa district between 6:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. with the support of artillery and mortar fire. At least 4 SLA soldiers were killed in the fighting and 9 wounded, LTTE officials told reporters in Vanni.
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SLN restrictions worsen situation in Jaffna peninsula

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 June 2008, 15:10 GMT]
The extended hours of curfew Saturday and the restrictions on movement of public imposed again besides the ban on fishing by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) have severely affected normalcy of life in Jaffna peninsula, sources in Jaffna said. The relaxation of the above restrictions adopted after the recent meeting of people’s representatives with the SLA commander at Palaali Military Head Quarters has been withdrawn along with the extension of curfew hours. Meanwhile, all cellular phone connections in the peninsula have been cut off since Saturday and all CDMA mobile phones were also disconnected from Sunday.
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SLN conducts large scale search in Nedunththeevu

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 June 2008, 13:47 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) in Nedunththeevu, assisted by policemen and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops brought down from Jaffna peninsula in large numbers, launched a joint cordon and search operation in Nedunththeevu Sunday, clamping a curfew from 10:00 a.m to 3:00 p.m. sources in Jaffna said. Anyone arrested during this search is not known.
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