Clashes erupt in Vavuniya, A9 Omanthai entry point closed after brief opening

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 August 2006, 17:30 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) closed the Omanthai entry point from the SLA controlled Vavuniya to Liberation Tigers controlled Vanni, after opening the gates for a while Thursday. SLA soldiers fired mortar shells towards LTTE Forward Defence Line (FDL) claiming that the Tigers had fired 10 mortar shells towards SLA FDL. Meanwhile, two Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres were killed at Semamadu FDL, the SLA sources in Vavuniya claimed to have recovered one body. An SLA trooper was killed at Mamadu FDL, 8 km northeast of Vavuniya, in a clash between the SLA and LTTE cadres, Vavuniya Police said.
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Patients not allowed through Omanthai checkpoint to Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 August 2006, 12:26 GMT]
Seven patients including four children, two pregnant women and an old man sent in an ambulance by Kilinochchi general hospital for emergency treatment in Vavuniya general hospital on August 20 were not allowed to enter government controlled territory through Omanthai SLA checkpoint. SLA soldiers sent them back to Killinochchi hospital, civil sources said.
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Civilians cross open lines-ICRC

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 August 2006, 13:21 GMT]
Since Monday, the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) facilitated a convoy of civilians going from Killinochchi to Vavuniya. The convoy consisted 243 persons, including 61 foreign citizens and 182 Sri Lankan nationals, said the press release of the ICRC Tuesday
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Jaffna bound civilians stranded in Vavuniya for 11 days

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 August 2006, 09:31 GMT]
More than five hundred Tamil civilians bound for Jaffna district stranded in Vavuniya for the last eleven days Monday morning gathered in the Vavuniya district secretariat urging the civil authorities to take steps to send them to the peninsula.
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SLRC worker shot dead in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 August 2006, 04:45 GMT]
Gunmen riding motorbike shot and killed a Sri Lanka Red Cross employee, Nagarasa Thavaranjitham, 24, Sunday night around 10:00 p.m. at his residence in Chettikulam, Vavuniya, Police said.
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Claymore blast injures police sergeant

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 August 2006, 06:53 GMT]
A Sri Lankan Police Sergeant was injured in a claymore blast at Saalambaikulam, about 7 k.m., west of Vavuniya on the Mannar road, around 7:30 a.m., Sunday, police in the northern town said.
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Police attacked in Vavuniya, two AK rifles recovered

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 August 2006, 13:04 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen fired at a police party at Kurumankadu in front of Kalaimagal pre-school, about 1 k.m. west of Vavuniya on the Mannar road, around 1 p.m., Saturday. Two AK rifles were recoved during the susequent search operation in the area, police said.
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Tamil youth shot dead in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 August 2006, 07:56 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot and killed a Tamil youth Saturday morning around 7 a.m at Ellapar Maruthankulam in Vavuniya police division, police sources said. The dead youth was identified as Karuneeswaran Kandeepan, 23, from Asikulam area in Vavuniya.
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Thousand civilians enter LTTE held Vanni region

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 August 2006, 15:48 GMT]
Stranded Tamil civilians in Vavuniya town for about six days were allowed to travel through Omanthai check point to the LTTE held districts of Killinochchi, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya North division in the Vavuniya district Friday. The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) reopened the Vavuniya-Omanthai check point Friday afternoon around 2.30 p.m for limited hours due to combined effort taken by Mr.Kishore Sivanathan, Vanni district parliamentarian and officials of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and Vavuniya district secretariat.
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SLA re-opens Omanthai checkpoint for stranded civilians to travel

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 August 2006, 09:47 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army Friday afternoon around 2 p.m. re-opened the Vavuniya Omanthai check point enabling stranded civilians in Vavuniya town to travel to their areas in the LTTE held Wanni region. About eight hundred Tamil civilians including around 260 public servants had been stranded in Vavuniya since the closure of Vavuniya-Omanthai check point, sources said.
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Stranded Tamil civilians in Vavuniya demand opening of A9 highway

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 August 2006, 12:30 GMT]
About six hundred Tamil civilians stranded in Vavuniya due to the closure of Vavuniya-Omanthai Sri Lanka Army (SLA) check point Thursday morning held a protest in front of the office of the Vavuniya District Secretariat demanding that they should be sent to their villages and towns in the districts of Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Killinochchi, sources said.
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SLMM monitors leave Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 August 2006, 06:36 GMT]
Monitors of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) posted in the Trincomalee district left for Colombo Thursday morning as the ground situation was not conducive for further monitoring. Trincomalee SLMM office located along the Inner Harbour Road in the east port town was closed down Wednesday and all six monitors led by SLMM Head of Trincomalee District Office (DO) Ove Janssen, left by road to Colombo, SLMM sources said.
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Vavuniya, Trinco observe hartal, mourning day for massacred children

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 August 2006, 08:20 GMT]
General shut down and the day of mourning day was observed in the districts of Vavuniya and Trincomalee Wednesday condemning the massacre of about sixty one children in Puthukudiruppu Sencholai children home in Mullaitivu district by Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), killing of seventeen workers of French NGO in Muthur by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and indiscriminate killing of Tamil civilians in the North East by the State armed forces, sources said.
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Vavuniya lawyers boycott courts, protest against killing innocents

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 August 2006, 12:34 GMT]
The District Court of Vavuniya, Magistrates Court of Vavuniya and Vavuniya High Court did not function Tuesday following a boycott campaign carried out lawyers condemning the killings of innocent civilians, children and workers of non-governmental organizations without any reason in the North-East, said the Vavuniya District Bar Association in a statement released Tuesday.
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SLA relaxes ban for government servants to enter Wanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 August 2006, 12:23 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has agreed to open Vavuniya-Omanthai check point for limited hours to enable public servants to report for works in government offices located in LTTE held Wanni, according to Vavuniya Government Mr.C.Shanmugam.
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One killed, another injured in Mannar shooting incident

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 August 2006, 09:04 GMT]
Gunmen Monday night around 10.30 p.m. attacked the Special Task Force sentry point at Semmankulam located along Mannar-Madawachchi road. In the retaliatory fire by the STF one person was killed and another injured, Mannar Police said.
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SLA closes Vavuniya, Uyilankulam, Madhu checkpoints

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 August 2006, 12:37 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Saturday morning closed the entry points to and from LTTE held areas in Omanthai, Vavuniya, and in the Mannar district at Uyilankulam and Madhu junction until further notice. Madhu church is located in LTTE held area. Madhu junction is the gateway to Madhu Church located in LTTE area. Due to the closure of the Madhu junction entry point about ten thousand pilgrims who have already gone to attend the annual Madhu church festival are unable to leave for their hometowns in the south and elsewhere in the country, sources said.
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Trincomalee, Batticaloa Health workers protest attacks on health professionals

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 August 2006, 00:23 GMT]
Employees of the North East Provincial Health Ministry and Provincial Department of Health, and Batticaloa Health Service workers held protest demonstrations Friday condemning the attack on hospital ambulance that resulted in killing five staff including the medical officer in Nedunkerni in Vavuniya district, and the attack on two ambulances of the Muthur hospital last week in Trincomalee district killing three persons, civil society sources in the eastern districts said.
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Two youths shot dead in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 August 2006, 00:10 GMT]
Two persons were shot dead by unidentified men in two separate incidents in Vavuniya Friday afternoon. In the first incident, unidentified men shot dead Subash Chandrabose Suganthan, 25, a member of the paramilitary PLOTE group, at Ookulankulam around 12.45 p.m., Vavuniya Police said.
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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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