LTTE says "casualties" in Tharavai SLAF bombing

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 August 2006, 11:56 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) sources Friday said there were casualties, without specifying figures, in Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombing in Tharavai, northwest of Batticaloa. "The GoSL forces are attempting to open another front of offensive towards Batticaloa," said Director of LTTE's Peace Secretariat S. Puleedevan. He said the Tigers had called on the Norwegian facilitators and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) to take "immediate steps to cease the Sri Lankan attacks that aimed to put CFA in jeopardy."


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Tamil shops in Colombo attacked

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 August 2006, 10:34 GMT]
About nine Tamil shops located in Armour Street in Colombo city were attacked by a group of Muslims during a demonstration held after Jumma prayers condemning the attack on Muslims in Muthur Friday at around 1.35 p.m., police sources in Colombo said. Krishna Vilas and Vaani Vilas, two prominent restaurants were heavily damaged in the attack,
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No military solution to the conflict, says US Embassy

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 August 2006, 10:00 GMT]
The US Embassy in Sri Lanka, in a press release issued on Friday said there can be "no military solution to the conflict that continues to divide Sri Lankans. Without political commitment and a spirit of compromise between both parties, there will be no end to the conflict. "There is no other way forward than through a return to negotiations." The United States is "deeply concerned by the dislocation of tens of thousands of innocent civilians and the killing of NGO personnel in the northeast."
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Blast destroys SLA ammunition store

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 August 2006, 16:17 GMT]
A massive explosion at a Sri Lanka Army base (SLA) at Allai-Kantalai in the Trincomalee battle area caused severe destruction Thursday, military sources said. The reason for the blast, which destroyed the camp’s main ammunition store, is not known. Military officials, confirming the explosion, refused to comment on casualties. The ammo dump was seen burning till Friday morning. Wounded Sri Lanka Army troopers have been air-lifted to Anuradhapura hospital. Eight of the wounded have been brought to Colombo.
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Fighting kills 41 SLA troops, wounds 120

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 August 2006, 13:54 GMT]
Sri Lankan Army advancing into LTTE-controlled areas have lost 41 soldiers killed in Thursday’s heavy fighting around the Maavil Aru sluice gates, military sources said. 22 soldiers have been seriously wounded and 98 others wounded, military officials in Colombo said speaking on condition of anonymity. Meanwhile the LTTE military spokesman, Rasiah Ilanthirayan said ten Tigers had died and 20 were wounded.
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Humanitarian crisis: 42,000 displaced in LTTE areas

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 August 2006, 13:10 GMT]
Close to 42,000 civilians are trapped and displaced, without food, water, or medical assistance in LTTE areas of Eachchilampattu, Sampoor, Verugal, Kathiraveli, Vaharai and surrounding villages, the LTTE Peace Secretariat said Thursday. Sri Lanka’s military is blocking ICRC and UN relief supplies from reaching Vaharai, northern Batticaloa. UNICEF estimated that of the 40,000 civilians displaced half are women and children. The Head of the LTTE’s Peace Secretariat, S. Puleedevan, has contacted the British and Norwegian diplomatic missions in Colombo as well as Oslo’s Special Envoy, Jon Hansen-Bauer, over the humanitarian crisis.
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Vavuniya Hospital staff protest over Claymore attack on doctor and staff

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 August 2006, 10:26 GMT]
Vavuniya General Hospital staff including doctors, nurses, and hospital administration staff Thursday held a token strike on A9 Road for two hours protesting against the claymore attack Tuesday night in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Nedunkerni in which a doctor and four staff were killed, sources in Vavuniya said. Protestors who allowed to proceed a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) ambulance, did not allow a water-bowser to proceed. Nedunkerni hospital comes under Deputy Provincial Directors of Health (DPDH) in Vavuniya.
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Mobilization campaign against Violence and War

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 August 2006, 09:37 GMT]
A series of mass meetings and broad mobilisation of people against violence and war, to be organized by the National Anti-war Front (NAWF) , will be held from the August 17th to 21st September 2006, said NAWF Chairman, Dr Kumar Rupesinghe, in a memorandum circulated to the media in Colombo Thursday. A press conference to publicize this campaign labelled "All-Together," is being held Thursday at 3.30pm at Nippon Hotel, Slave Island, Colombo.
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Fighting rages close to Maavilaru sluice gate, 5 Tigers killed

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 August 2006, 09:33 GMT]
Heavy fighting continued around 3:00 p.m. in Maavilaru . Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers were close to Maavilaru sluice gates. Five Tigers were killed and 12 wounded, according to LTTE sources. Heavy fighting is reported in Mahindapura and Maavilaru.
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50 civilians killed, 200 wounded, renewed SLA offensive

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 August 2006, 04:59 GMT]
Atleast 50 civilians were killed and more than 200 were injured in Sri Lankan forces aerial bombardment and artillery attacks, Thursday morning, in Kathiraveli and surrounding villages as thousands of civilians were still fleeing the areas. Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched a fresh offensive, involving thousands of troopers, from Kallaru SLA camp towards Maavilaru sluice-gate while launching indiscriminate aerial and artillery attacks on Eachilampathu and it's suburbs. Liberation Tigers Military Spokesman Irasaiah Ilanthirayan, speaking from Kilinochchi said: "We can only interpret this as Colombo's declaration of war."
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Tigers checkmate

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 August 2006, 10:05 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers' announcement that they would regard continued ground and air attacks by the Sri Lanka armed forces as declaration of war by Colombo, is an ominous development in Sri Lanka's continuing undeclared war. In addition to forcing the Government of Sri Lanka to choose between war and peace, Tigers have demonstrated their readiness to open multiple battlefronts in other strategic locations of the island to effectively counter the objectives of Sri Lankan military signified by the Trincomalee offensive.


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Bomb wounds EPDP official in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 August 2006, 09:22 GMT]
A senior official of a pro-government paramilitary group and 9 other people were wounded in a bomb explosion in Colombo Tuesday. Sankarapillai Sivathasan, a senior advisor to the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) and one its former a parliamentarians, was rushed to hospital. A security personnel and a 3-year old child in the vehicle were killed in the blast.


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ACF workers, 14 Tamils and a Muslim, lined up and shot - Fact Finding Mission

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 August 2006, 07:26 GMT]
"The bodies [of Muthur massacre victims] were all face downwards on the front lawn [of ACF office], seemingly lined up and shot at very close range. The sight was too much to handle," said a Fact Finding Mission of the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA) that visited Muthur town Sunday where 14 Tamil and a Muslim worker of Action Against Hunger (Action Contre la Faim, ACF) were allegedly massacred by Sri Lanka Army (SLA). The CHA report further verified that most of the deceased were wearing ACF agency T-shirts. Meanwhile, reports from Trincomalee on Tuesday said 17 bodies of ACF workers, 16 Tamils and a Muslim, were brought to Trincomalee hospital.
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GoSL paying "scant regard" to Norway's peace efforts - LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 August 2006, 06:39 GMT]
"It is the plea of the Tamil people to the international community that it understands the stark truth behind these actions of the GoSL," the Peace Secretariat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said Monday as Norwegian Special Envoy Jon-Hanssen Bauer was scheduled to visit Trincomalee to meet Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission Major General Ulf Henricsson in his final efforts to avert the outbreak of war. The Tigers on Sunday said they considered Sri Lankan forces continued attacks towards the LTTE controlled territory as Declaration of War by Colombo.
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SLA shelling kills 15 civilians, injures 20

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 August 2006, 16:15 GMT]
At least 15 Tamil civilians were killed and 20 others were seriously injured when artillery shells fired by the Sri Lanka Army and Sri Lanka Navy Sunday hit Nallur and Upooral villages in the Muttur east and Eachchilampathu division in the south of Trincomalee district. This incident took place Sunday night around 7.15 p.m., sources in Muthur said.
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ICRC urged to ensure relief supply reaches IDPs in Muttur east, Eachchilampathu

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 August 2006, 13:32 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance has appealed to the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) to ensure humanitarian relief supply reaches the internally displaced Tamil people numbering more than 30000 in the LTTE held areas in the Muttur east and Eachchilampathu division due to indiscriminate aerial strike and artillery attack since April in the Trincomalee district on par with displaced in the government controlled territory. Meanwhile, the ICRC said Sunday in a press release that it has launched a relief operation in Muthur area in co-ordination with the Red Cross Movement (RCM), local authorities and other humanitarian organizations.
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Muslim massacre accusation, a fabrication - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 August 2006, 13:10 GMT]
Responding to the accusation by Colombo that during the Muthur clashes Liberation Tigers abducted and killed Muslim civilians, Political Head of Liberation Tigers, S.P.Thamilchelvan, in a media interview, said that the accusation is a total fabrication by Colombo which is trying desperately to divert the attention from its tenuous military position in Trincomalee naval base.
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SLA fires MBRL rockets from Trincomalee to Muthur East

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 August 2006, 10:44 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched Multi-Barrel Rocket Launchers (MBRL) rockets at 4:00 p.m. Sunday from Trincomalee base. At least 6 artillery shells and three rounds of rockets were fired till 5:00 p.m.
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Colombo bombards Maavilaru, SLMM Head narrowly escapes

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 August 2006, 09:21 GMT]
Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission officials, Liberation Tigers Political Head S. Elilan and civilian representatives who went to Maavilaru site to re-open the closed sluice gates came under Sri Lanka Army artillery attack, initial reports said. Dozens of artillery shells were fired. Norwegian Special Envoy Jon Hanssen Bauer is in direct contact with Royal Norwegian Government and Colombo discussing the latest hostile attacks. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera had ealier assured Norwegian Envoy Jon-Hanssen Bauer that attacks would be ceased. The re-opening of sluice gates is blocked by the new escalation of attacks.
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Facilitator to ensure humanitarian action, sluice gates to be opened

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 August 2006, 06:15 GMT]
Norwegian Special Envoy Jon-Hanssen Bauer has assured the LTTE leadership that the facilitators would act, within three weeks, to ensure equitable humanitarian assistance as the Tiger leadership told the facilitator that the LTTE would convince the Maavilaru Tamils to re-open the closed sluice gates. The Tigers also said that the Sri Lanka's direct military actions such as air-strikes, artillery attacks and "socalled limited operations" would be regarded as Declaration of War.
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