Residents catch paramilitary robbers in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 January 2008, 10:12 GMT]
Residents of Naavatkudaa area in Batticaloa district way laid and caught five members of the paramilitary Pillayaan group Tuesday around 8:00 p.m. as the paramilitary group was about to rob a house in the area, police said. Kanagaratnam Athiravan, one of the five caught, is the person in charge of Kalladi Pillayaan camp. The public got together and caught the robbers, who carried three T-56 type assault rifles with them, and handed the robbers with their rifles over to the Kaaththaankudi police.
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2 corpses washed ashore at Ka’luvangchchikudi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 January 2008, 07:13 GMT]
Two corpses of youths with bullet wounds and cut injuries were found washed ashore Tuesday around 11:00 a.m on a river bank in Onthaachchimadam area in Ka’luvvaangchchikudi in Batticaloa district. The two corpses were identified as those of two youths who had gone missing since Saturday, Ka’luvaangchchikudi police said.
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Batticaloa flood victims need urgent help - MP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 December 2007, 19:49 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian for Batticaloa District. S. Jeyananthamoorthy, appealed to the Batticaloa Aditional Government Agent, K Maheshan, to immediately take all necessary steps to provide relief assistance to the flood victims in the Batticaloa district. Continued torrential rain is falling in Batticaloa, Amparai and Polannaruwa districts for more than 24 hours, and most of the low lying areas in Batticaloa have become submerged resulting in a large number of civilians becoming displaced from their residences, sources in the region said.
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Heavy rain causes flooding in Eastern Province

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 December 2007, 01:37 GMT]
Torrential rain in the past twenty four hours in the Eastern province has created the fear of severe flooding in various parts of Batticaloa district and the heavy rain is still continuing Thursday. Low - lying lands in areas under the administration of the District Secretaries (DS) of Manmunai North, Aarayampathi, Kiraan, Chengkaladi, Vaazhaichcheanai, and Kaaththaankudi, are reported to be worst affected.
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SLN attacks fisherman in northern seas

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 December 2007, 17:06 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) Dvora gunboats opened fire Wednesday around 10:00 p.m and again around 4:30 a.m Thursday on fishermen fishing in Vadmaraadchi eastern sea, destroying a boat completely, while the two fishermen in the boat jumped into the sea to save their lives, sources in Vadamaraadchi said. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched heavy artillery fire Wednesday and Thursday on civilian settlements in Vadamaraadchi east, Pa’lai and Iyakkachchi areas causing damage to houses and shops.
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SLA restricts bus services in Mannaar district

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 12 December 2007, 00:32 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Tuesday instructed the state owned Ceylon Transport Board (CTB) and the private sector bus association not to run daily bus services to other districts after 4.30 p.m. and local services after 5.30 p.m. from Mannaar district. The SLA told the authorities concerned that the restriction has been imposed due to security reason, and the restrictions will be in effect until further notice.
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Kaagnchirangkudaa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 December 2007, 00:41 GMT]
The cove / corner of Kaagnchirai trees
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Fisherman shot dead in Kurunakar, 3 seek protection with HRC Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 December 2007, 10:19 GMT]
Two unidentified gunmen riding a motorcycle shot dead a fisherman Tuesday around 11:45 a.m, on Water Tank Road in Kurnakar, Jaffna, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, three family men from three different regions in Jaffna peninsula sought protection with Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna due to death threats from Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops and SLA-backed paramilitaries.
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Armed robberies escalate in Kaaththaankudi

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 December 2007, 01:21 GMT]
Armed robberies of homes in Tamil areas of Naavatkudaa and Aarayampathi in Kaaththaankudi police division by unidentified gangs have escalated according to the number of complaints lodged by the village residents at Kaaththaankudi Police station, police said.
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Muslims appeal to Rajapaksa to address community grievances

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 December 2007, 00:02 GMT]
Mosques Federation of Eastern province, during a meeting held by the Federation in Polannaruwa Friday, appealed to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to take immediate steps to address dangers faced by the Muslim community, sources in the eastern province said.
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Youth shot dead in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 December 2007, 17:14 GMT]
Two unidentified men riding a motorcycle shot at a youth riding a bicycle along Ka'luthaavalai Koyil road, Ka'luthaavalai in Batticaloa District, Saturday afternoon 12:30 p.m., and fled from the scene. The critically wounded youth was rushed to Ka’luvaagnchikkudi District hospital where he llater succumbed to the injuries, Ka’luvaagnchikkudi police said.
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Technical Officer shot dead in Thenmaraadchchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 November 2007, 16:20 GMT]
Two unidentified motorcycle gunmen, following behind the Chief Technical Officer of Chaavakachcheari Predeshya Saba on his way home on motorcycle after work Wednesday evening, shot him dead at Yattaa’lai, Va’ra’ni where the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) 52nd Brigade base is located, sources in Kodikaamam said. The officer had moved from his village Yattaalai to Inparuddi in Vadamaraadchchi due to continuous death threats by SLA and SLA-backed paramilitaries, the sources added.
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Sajitharan released, family transported to Colombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 November 2007, 13:50 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on Monday, after the budget voting, secured the release of S. Sajitharan, the son-in-law of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP for Batticaloa district, who had been abducted by the paramilitary Pillayaan Group. Mr. Sajitharan and the remaining members of the family of the TNA parliamentarian T. Kangasabai were transported from Batticaloa to Colombo and handed over to the MP, according to the TNA sources in Colombo. Mr. Kanagasabai, warned by the paramilitary operative Pillayaan not to vote against the budget, was not present in the parliament during the final voting on Sri Lankan budget Monday.
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TNA sends SOS to foreign diplomats

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 November 2007, 16:00 GMT]
The Parliamentary Group of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has urged the foreign diplomats in Colombo, including the U.S. Embassy, the British High Commission, the Indian High Commission, the Embassy of Japan and the Embassy of Norway, Sunday evening to persuade the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to secure the timely release of the family member of the Batticaloa district TNA parliamentarian T. Kanagasabai, abducted by the paramilitary Sunday in Batticaloa, and to ensure a threat-free environment for the Tamil parliamentarians in exercising the democratic rights of the people they represent in the Sri Lankan parliament.
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Paramilitary threatens Batticaloa Tamil MPs not to vote against budget, abducts family member

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 November 2007, 11:18 GMT]
Armed paramilitary men from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) operated Pillayaan Group entered the house of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian T. Kagagasabai and abducted the Batticaloa MP's son-in-law around 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The group has threatened to kill the abductee if Mr. Kanagasabai voted against SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa's budget on Monday. The abduction took place at the police-protected house of the parliamentarian at Ka'luthaava'lai. Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan Police has withdrawn the security provided to all Batticaloa district TNA MPs residences in Batticaloa on Sunday.
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SLAF helicopter grounded in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 November 2007, 16:17 GMT]
An helicopter gunship of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) was forced to land at Tharavangkoaddai grounds located along Mannaar-Thaazhvuppaadu main road Thursday afternoon around 3:00 p.m. due to engine trouble. A team of mechanics were brought to the site by another SLAF helicopter to repair the helicopter.
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Sri Lanka builds police station on Kausalyan’s cemetary

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 November 2007, 13:38 GMT]
Sri Lankan authorities have razed a Tamil Tiger cemetery in the island’s east and built a police station on it, international ceasefire monitors said in a recent report. The Thaandiyadi cemetery, in which large numbers of LTTE cadres, including Mr. E. Kaushalyan, the popular political head of the LTTE in Batticaloa-Amparai district, who was killed by Army-backed paramilitaries whilst traveling through government-controlled territory during the peace process in 2005, has been razed. At least one other LTTE cemetery has had the grave markings razed, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) said.
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Mutilated male body found in Kaaththaankudi lake

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 November 2007, 19:22 GMT]
Kaaththaankudi fishermen recovered the body of a family man believed to be mutilated in crocodile attacks, washed ashore along Kaaththaankudi lagoon in Batticaloa district Thursday noon and handed it over to Kaaththaankudi police.
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Police arrest TMVP personnel in Kaaththaankudi

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 November 2007, 04:07 GMT]
Kaaththaankuci police arrested a personnel of TMVP paramilitary Tuesday around 5:00 p.m in Kaaththaankudi with the motorcycle he robbed from a Muslim trader, Ibrahim Mohamed Pakeem. The hand grenade the paramilitary man allegedly used to threatenthe trader was found in his possession when he was arrested, Police said.
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Hartal observed in Batticaloa Muslim areas

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 November 2007, 02:37 GMT]
Residents of Muslim areas in Batticaloa district observed Tuesday the shut down called by the Federation of Mosques in Batticaloa district demanding the immediate release of a Muslim trader abducted Wednesday in Chiththaandi area, allegedly by Karuna paramilitary group, sources in Batticaloa said. The protesters marched from Oattamaavadi Bazar mosque to Maavadicheanai mosque.
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