3 Tamil IDPs shot dead in Ea'raavoor

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 May 2007, 09:51 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers lying in ambush along a lake at Siththaa'ndi in Ea'raavoor police division in Batticaloa district shot dead three Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) including a woman, who had gone Sunday to check their cultivation.


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SLA shoots dead mentally-ill youth in Palaali

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 May 2007, 09:31 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers shot dead a youth Sunday night at Senthaankulam SLA Front Defence Line (FDL) area, within Palaali High Security Zone (HSZ), according to statement given during inquest into death conducted by Mallaaham Magistrate Ms. Sarojini Illankovan, Monday.
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RSF condemns murder of Jaffna journalist

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 May 2007, 01:12 GMT]
Reporters Without Borders (RSF - Reporters Sans Frontiers) the French based Journalist organization condemned the killing of young journalist, Selvarajah Rajivarman, who was killed in Jaffna Sunday by a lone gunman riding a motorbike.
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Thousands attend journalist Rajivarman's funeral

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 April 2007, 18:01 GMT]
Majority of the residents of the home town of the young journalist Rajivarman, killed by unknown gunmen Sunday in Jaffna, paid their last respects to his remains kept at his house in Aavarangkaal, Puththoor in Valikaamam Monday. Media persons, religious dignitaries, and civil society leaders spoke at the event.


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LTTE: Sri Lankan MIG-27 jet fighter shot down

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 April 2007, 14:38 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) jet fighter was shot down by Liberation Tigers air-defense system when the bomber approached the airfield of the Tamileelam Air Force (TAF) in Ira'naimadu Monday around 2:30 p.m., LTTE military spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said. The SLAF bomber, following a loud explosion, went down into the sea, Mr. Ilanthirayan said.
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SLAF bomber shot over Ira'naimadu

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 April 2007, 11:22 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force's (SLAF's) aircraft on a bombing raid south of Ira'naimadu in Vannai around 2:45 p.m. spewed large cloud of smoke after a explosion and the jet suspended the bombing raid struggling to maintain height, traders in Kilinochchi who saw the troubled aircraft said. Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports from Colombo said a Israeli-built fast attack Kfir which took off from Katunayake Air Force base Monday has failed to return to the base.


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Youth abducted, another shot injured in Karaveddy

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 April 2007, 10:38 GMT]
Unidentified armed men in a white van following a youth Saturday around 7:30 a.m, along Point Pedro-Jaffna road, opened rapid fire on him near Karaveddi Kunchar Kadai junction in Vadama'raadchchi and forcibly carried the seriously injured youth away in the van. Meanwhile, in a separate shooting at Ka'raveddi Saturday afternoon, unknown armed men shot a youth at his house, causing him serious injury.


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Air Tigers attack 2 targets in Colombo - LTTE

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 April 2007, 22:33 GMT]
Two oil storages that supply fuel to Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers were attacked by the Tamileelam Air Force, Tiger Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan told TamilNet. Oil and fuel storages in Kolonnawa and Muththuraajawala were attacked by the TAF at 1:50 a.m. Sunday and at 2:05 a.m. after Sri Lanka Air Force bombers attacked a suburb of Kilinochchi town in Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam administered territory, Mr. Ilanthirayan said adding that the Tiger bombers had safely returned to their airbase in Vanni.
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Colombo in dark following airstrike alarm

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 April 2007, 20:11 GMT]
Power supply was cut off in Colombo at 1:10 a.m. Sunday when the city was watching the Cricket world cup final match. Sri Lanka Air Force personnel opened fire in the air and Sri Lankan armed forces from their positions in Colombo, Ratmalana, Wattala, Negombo, Kolonnawa, Rajagiriya and other suburbs of the city began firing tracer bullets into the air. Chaos and pandemonium prevail in Sri Lanka's capital.
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Government officials visit Paduvankarai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 April 2007, 18:58 GMT]
A team of government officials visited Paduvankarai region in Batticaloa district Friday, for the first time after residents had fled the region due to the offensive by the Sri Lankan armed forces in March, sources in Batticaloa said. The team consisting of officials from the Departments of Education, Health, Electricity, Highways, Irrigation, Cooperatives and Agrarian Services were joined by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) commanders and Senior Superintendent of Police, Batticaloa.
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Two fishermen reported missing in Mannar

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 April 2007, 17:23 GMT]
Two fishermen from Vankaalai, stopped at a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) checkpost at Thomaspuri on Vankaalai - Naanaaddaan Road Friday around 3:00 p.m., were taken blindfolded to Na'ruvilikkulam coast around 6:00 p.m., residents said. The families of the fishermen have complained to the ICRC and the Police Saturday. Meanwhile Na'ruvilikkulam villagers who heard unusual vehicle movement during the early hours of Saturday, have witnessed footprints of military boots at the coastal site of Thomaspuri.
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Fisherman killed in SLA artillery fire in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 April 2007, 15:00 GMT]
A fisherman was killed in the Jaffna lagoon within the perimeters of Jaffna Municipality when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers fired artillery from the shores towards waters of the lagoon, sources in Jaffna said. The incident happened soon after SLA relaxed fishing along Paashaiyoor and Columbuthurai, and allowed fishermen to use paddle boats to go fishing in the lagoon. Gurunagar ban was not lifted.
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Detained Jaffna undergrad files FR petition

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 April 2007, 13:31 GMT]
Sivaraj Paheerathan, Jaffna university undergrad, currently being detained after the arrest by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on August 18, 2006 under the Emergency Regulations (ER), filed a Fundamental Rights (FR) petition in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka Friday seeking to declare that his fundamental rights have been violated as his arrest and detention are illegal. The petition requested the Court to order the State to pay compensation of Rs.150,000 as relief, legal sources in Colombo said.
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SLA checks villagers' identities in Thampalakamam

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 April 2007, 12:19 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) ordered families residing in Potkerni and other suburbs in Thampalakamam, a traditional Tamil village in Trincomalee district, to be present at Kulakoddan Tamil Vidiyalayam Saturday morning to check their identities and to explain the purpose of their stay in the location, civil sources said.
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Taraki Sivaram remembered

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 April 2007, 10:14 GMT]
"We once again remember with pride the service rendered to the media by Taraki Sivaram. He exercised his right to freedom of expression without fear. We bear this in our minds as we take it among the people on his second death anniversary," the statement issued by North Sri Lanka Journalists Association (NSLJA) Friday said. Members of NSLJA and Jaffna University Media Research & Training Centre (MRTC) jointly took part in the first event of a programme launched to remember Taraki Sivaram, the well-known, political analyst and senior editor of TamilNet, on the second anniversary of his assassination on 28 April 2005.
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IDP shot dead in Kaluthavalai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 April 2007, 02:14 GMT]
Unidentified armed persons wearing masks abducted an Internally Displaced Person (IDP), a father of a child, from his temporary dwelling in Seddipalayam and shot him dead around 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Kaluthavalai, a neighboring village 2 km south, in Kaluwanchchikkudy Police division in Batticaloa district.
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‘Come on you Sri Lankan Lions!’ – UK

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 April 2007, 10:40 GMT]
The British diplomatic mission in Colombo shed diplomatic neutrality on Friday to support Sri Lanka's cricket team in their World Cup final against Australia, AFP reported. "We're hoping for a repeat of the 1996 World Cup final result. Come on you Sri Lankan Lions. Let's hear you roar," a message from the UK High Commission said.


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Civilian found dead in Thenmaradchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 April 2007, 09:15 GMT]
Kodikamam police recovered the body of a family man Thursday morning at Yathali, Thavalai area in Varani, Thenmaradchy and handed it over to Jaffna Teaching hospital. The victim lived within the demarcated boundary of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) High Security Zone, an area where the 52nd SLA division and SLA camps are located.


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SLAF MI24 crashes in Anuradhapura

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 April 2007, 05:58 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) helicopter gunship, MI 24, that took off from Anurdhapura airbase following the reports of unidentified aircraft over Puttalam sea Thursday night, crashed into a private land adjoining the airforce base at 10:55 p.m.
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Citing child soldiers, HRW urges cut in military aid to Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 April 2007, 03:18 GMT]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) this week called on the United States to curtail military assistance to Sri Lanka, along with other countries whose armed forces recruit youngsters into the military. The New York based rights group, which has long been critical of the Liberation Tigers for recruiting fighters under the age of 18 said “US military assistance should not go to finance the use and exploitation of children in armed conflict” and called for support for a bill tabled in the senate to cut military aid to such countries.
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