Civilian airport for Jaffna?

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Feasibility studies for building an airport for civilian flights in the North are to be undertaken soon, said Security Forces Commander (North), Major General Lional Balagalle, at a meeting with Mr. S. Sri Baskaran, Chairman designate of the North Waligamam Pradeshiya Sabah. A proposal for an airport had been put forward by Mr. Sri Baskakaran.
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Hartal over civilian's death

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
A hartal was observed in Trincomalee today in protest over the death of a student in a grenade attack on the local EPDP office on Saturday
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Civilians languish in Mannar

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
More than 2000 civilians are languishing in the open exposed elements in the village of Pallamadu in Mannar, as the Sri Lankan Army is refusing them permission to travel through the entry point to the areas controlled by it, at Uyilankulam junction, which lies 9 km west of Mannar, on the Vavuniya - Mannar road.
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Soldiers escape grenade explosion in Kodikamam

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
A grenade was lobbed by unidentified persons at 2 SLA soldiers at Kodikamam in Jaffna this morning at 11am. However, the SLA soldiers escaped unhurt as the grenades exploded about 3 meters from them.
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Gurunagar civilians apprehensive

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Civilians who live by the shore, on Beach road in Gurunagar in Jaffna town, said that they do not sleep in their houses at night now as they fear clashes between the Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lankan army might erupt any day in the area.
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7 Ampara homeguards killed

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Seven homeguards were killed in an attack by the Liberation Tigers this morning around 10.30 a.m. in the Central camp area about thirty kilometers south west of Batticaloa near the district's border with Ampara.
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Hindu ceremonies being organised

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The authorities in Jaffna are making arrangements to transport devotees to Keerimalai Naguleswaram temple for Mahasivaraththiri poojas on February 25, said temple sources in Keerimalai. Six buses will be used to transport devotees from Tellippalai on that day for poojas from 2:00 - 6:00 p.m.
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Civilians assaulted in retaliation

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Tamil ex-militants working with the Sri Lankan military intelligence and the Special Task Force in Batticaloa beat up several civilians who were passing through the Manmunai ferry this morning.
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Military build up unsettles Pulmoddai residents

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
A large number of Muslims from Pulmoddai town and its surroundings sought refuge in the local Mosque today, fearing a major assault by the Liberation Tigers on the Sri Lankan Army positions here, according to initial reports from the eastern port town of Trincomalee.
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Feared militia commander shot dead

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Rasasingham Seevaraththinam, 27, alias Sinnavan, one of the most feared Tamil ex-militants working for the Sri Lankan security forces in the Batticaloa district, was shot dead this morning around 8.30 a.m. near the Manmunai Special Task Force (STF) camp. The STF blamed the Liberation Tigers for the killing.
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Jaffna - Trinco ferry to resume

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Two shipping lines have been given permission by Sri Lanka's Ministry of Defence to begin a passenger service between Trincomalee and Kankesanthurai (KKS) shortly. The service cannot begin at once, according to local shipping sources, because the ships from the companies are not registered under the Sri Lankan flag.
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Tigers shell Mandoor STF

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers attacked the Special Task Force camp in Mandoor, about 26 kilometers south west of Batticaloa early this morning wounding two STF commandos. The shelling began from 5.15 a.m. in the morning and went on until 6 a.m. said sources in Batticaloa.
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A comfortable blackout

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE is being fought behind one of the most comprehensive news blackouts of recent times. The Sri Lankan government has been able to strictly control information coming out of the war zone with considerable success and without drawing much international criticism of the censorship. Sri Lanka's success stems from following a simple but effective strategy that has proved successful elsewhere.
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Journalists to see Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government announced today that it will take the press to Kilinochchi by air tomorrow. The government information department has informed newspapers and news agencies in Colombo that journalists would be flown to Kilinochchi tomorrow morning.
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Gurunagar fishermen banned

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The SLA has stopped fishermen in Gurunagar in Jaffna town from putting out to sea following the Thursday night attack by the Liberation Tigers on military positions in the area said sources in Jaffna.
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Bomb hoax causes panic

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
A hoax that explosives had been planted in Hatton, a town in central Sri Lanka, last morning, created chaos among the police and the public in the area. As panic spread through the town, there were different accounts about where the bomb had been placed.
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Jaffna commander briefs diplomats

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The commander of the Sri Lankan security forces in Jaffna, Major General Lionel Balagalle, met members of the diplomatic community at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo to explain the situation in Jaffna.
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Pro-government militia seen bracing themselves

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Paramilitary organisations in Batticaloa such as the Peoples Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and the Razeek Group which is affiliated to the Eelam Peoples' Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), are strengthening the fortifications around their camps and exercising greater vigilance through more rigorous checking of civilians, in fear of an attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said sources in Batticaloa.
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Five killed in Vanni clashes - VoT

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Voice of Tigers radio said in its night broadcast today that two Tigers were killed in the fighting which broke out between the LTTE and the SLA yesterday in the Mankulam area.
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Mine hits SLA bus

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
3 SLA soldiers were killed and 21 wounded and when a bus carrying more than forty SLA troops in a convoy was hit by a claymore mine today, around 11.45 a.m. in Vanthaarumoolai, 18 kilometers north of Batticaloa on the main trunk road.
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