SL Forces reintroduce fishing ban in Vadamaradchy

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 March 2007, 11:36 GMT]
Sri Lanka Armed Forces stationed along the coastal belt of Vadamaradchy reinstated the ban on fishing from Wednesday morning on Vadamaradchy north and east seas until further notice, fisheries society sources said.
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Tigers raid SLA camp, checkposts on A-15 road in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 March 2007, 07:49 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam launched heavy artillery shelling on Sri Lanka Army camps located in Morakkoddanchenai and Mavadivembu, and on the checkposts along Trincomalee Batticaloa A-15 road in a pre-dawn attack inflicting damage to the SLA positions in the area north of Batticaloa. LTTE fighters raided at least one SLA camp, located at Mavadivembu, according to initial reports. SLA sources claimed to have located 8 bodies of LTTE fighters after the raid which lasted for more than 2 hours. At least 4 SLA troopers were killed and 8 SLA troopers were seriously wounded in LTTE shelling that started around 12:45 a.m. The LTTE is yet to release details about the attack.
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SLA introduces pass system to travel out of Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 March 2007, 01:29 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) high command in Jaffna said it requires all persons wishing to leave Jaffna district to provide a surety to stand guarantee for the return of the applicant as an additional requirement to obtain a pass to travel out of the distriict. The travellers are asked to submit applications to the area SLA official through the Village Officer and the Divisional Secretary. Civil society sources expressed concern over the new regulations restricting the freedom of movement, and urged Rights groups to bring pressure on Colombo to stop the deteriorating human rights situation in Northeast.
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Jaffna resident seeks protection with HRC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 March 2007, 00:45 GMT]
A fifty-seven year old resident of Sirupitty, Valligamam, sought protection from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers and their collaborating paramilitary members at the Jaffna police station Tuesday through the Jaffna office of the Human Rights Commission, according to HRC. The man said that two youths had been killed at Nilavarai in his area and that he too feared being abducted SLA troopers.
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SLA removes remains of bodies, accuse Mulli residents

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 March 2007, 17:33 GMT]
A search organised by Point Pedro Magistrate Mr. K. Ariyanayagam and the police Tuesday evening, for the two partly burnt corpses discovered by Mulli residents in a mangrove shrub jungle Monday, ended in failure, sources in Jaffna said. Military boot tracks on the marshy ground were found in the area and residents allege that the burnt corpses have been removed Monday night by the troopers who the villagers accuse of dumping the body there.
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Karuna group, SLA, abduct 5 IDPs

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 March 2007, 16:19 GMT]
Five persons, including a Hindu priest, two teen aged sisters, and two youths from the Internally Displaced People (IDP)s displaced from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held areas in Batticaloa district, have been taken away by paramilitary Karuna group personnel and soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Intelligence wing within the last 10 days, according to complaints lodged with Batticaloa Human Rights commission by their relatives.
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JUSU condemns GoSL attacks on East, raises funds to help refugees

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 March 2007, 11:21 GMT]
Jaffna University Student Union (JUSU) condemned the pre-planned attack by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on the people of Eastern province and demanded that the Sri Lanka government to immediately stop the attacks on civilians creating a humanitarian crisis, during a meeting held at the Kailasapathy Hall in Jaffna university around 10:30 a.m. Monday. The JUSU also urged the student community to unite to help the people displaced by the SLA offensives.
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SLA soldier killed in Kuchchaveli

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 March 2007, 00:11 GMT]
A soldier of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) was killed at Sembimalai in Kuchchaveli police division Trincomalee Sunday evening when an unidentified group of persons fired at a foot patrol of the SLA, military sources said.
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Two partly burnt corpses found in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 March 2007, 16:55 GMT]
Villagers of Mulli at Varani discovered two corpses in partly burnt state dumped in a shrub land located along Kodikamam-Point Pedro road between Thenmaradchy and Vadamaradchi Monday, sources in Jaffna said.
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Trader, student disappear in Ariyalai

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 March 2007, 11:26 GMT]
A trader and a student accompanying him have disappered in Pungankulam, Ariyalai, inside the Jaffna Municipal area, after being interrogated by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers Sunday noon, according to complaints made at the offices of Jaffna Human Rights Commission, sources said.
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Jaffna bus service reduced due to lack of spares

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 March 2007, 10:28 GMT]
Ceylon Transport Board (CTB), the only public transport means in Jaffna peninsula, will soon grind to a halt as spares and other essentials have ceased to reach Jaffna since the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) closed the A9 land route to the peninsula in August 2006, transportation officials in Jaffna said, Friday.
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175 schoolchildren, 9 staff narrowly escape air strike on school

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 March 2007, 08:36 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers Monday morning bombed a school in Chundikulam, wounding a female teacher and two schoolboys, attending 7th grade and 9th grade at the school, Chundikulam Vidyalayam, located 21 km northeast of Kilinochchi, in the southern part of Vadamaradchi East region in Jaffna district. Three bombs were dropped 25 meters from a class room. A bomb that hit a tree exploded in the air, wounding two children and a teacher. Around 175 schoolchildren, 8 teachers and the principal of the school narrowly escaped from the aerial attack. TamilNet correspondent who visited the site of the attack witnessed a second air strike at 11:45 a.m.
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SL Forces lift fishing blockade in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 March 2007, 12:52 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) High Command in Jaffna allowed fishing in coastal areas in Vadamaradchy north and east with specific restrictions starting from Saturday, fisheries society sources in Jaffna said. Fishermen were allowed fishing during day-light hours, within one 1km from the shores, and can only use non-motorized boats, sources added.
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SLA blocks annual foot pilgrimage of Mannar Christians

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 March 2007, 12:13 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) refused permission to about hundreds of Christian devotees to continue their annual foot pilgrimage to Calvary located in Komarasankulam in Vavuniya citing security reasons Wednesday morning. Devotees returned to Mannar after they were stopped at Murunkan on their way to Vavuniya. The SLA also turned down appeals made by Mannar Bishop Rt.Rev. Rayappu Joseph, church officials said.


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Abducted TRO staffers final rites held

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 March 2007, 20:01 GMT]
The final rites for the seven TRO staffers abducted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA)-backed Karuna paramilitary group in January 2006, and presumed murdered, were held on the Saturday, after three days of mourning, sources from Kilinochchi said. Framed memorials with photographs were taken to relatives home in Kilinochchi on Wednesday, 14 March, for people to pay respect. The pictures were taken in procession to the Kilinochchi Cultural Hall where the final ceremony was held.
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SLA blocks Education officials from visiting FDL schools

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 March 2007, 12:24 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) command in Jaffna has blocked from Jaffna district Education Department officials from visiting schools inside the High Security Zones (HSZs) to attend to routine educational matters and to inspect progress in building construction, Valigamam Education officials said. Tellipallai Union College, inside Valigamam North HSZ, and Hartley College and Methodist Girls College, inside Point Pedro HSZ, are the worst affected schools with the new SLA restrictions, Education officials said.
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19 SLA troopers injured in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 March 2007, 06:55 GMT]
At least 19 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were injured, 4 of them seriously, when SLA troopers and the Liberation Tigers exchanged heavy artillery and rocket fire along the forward defence lines of Thenmaradchi in the Jaffna peninsula from Friday evening. Heavy shelling continued till Saturday morning, sources in Jaffna said.
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SLA operation thwarted on southern front - LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 March 2007, 13:42 GMT]
Hundreds of Sri Lanka Army troopers who advanced into Liberation Tigers territory Palamoddai, northwest of Vavuniya, were forced to hurriedly withdraw from the area, leaving behind military hardware as the Tigers put up stiff resistance against the SLA troopers between 12:00 and 3:00 p.m., said LTTE's Military Spokesman, Irasiah Ilanthirayan. Four SLA troopers were killed and 20 wounded in the operation. However, the SLA said it suffered casualties when LTTE attacked their positions.
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SLA arrests three Tamil youths in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 March 2007, 11:28 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Friday morning arrested three Tamil youths travelling in a private bus to Mannar from Vavuniya. Monitors of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) have been informed of the arrest, sources said.


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SLA shoots dead youth in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 March 2007, 11:21 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) sources in Jaffna said they shot dead a youth who attempted to enter their Intelligence Unit main camp located at Koolavady area in Annaikottai in Valigamam, after lobbing a hand grenade, Friday around 12:15 p.m. The grenade did not explode, according to SLA sources
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