Till the other side cracks

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 May 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Sri Lankan military's widespread and indiscriminate use of artillery and air power is arguably the major cause of civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka. In the past few years, the Sri Lankan military has repeatedly up-gunned its forces with ever larger caliber field guns, with more numerous aircraft that are capable of carrying heavier payloads and more heavily armed naval craft.
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STF restrictions to hit trade

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 May 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Special Task Force (STF), of the Sri Lankan Police warned people in the Eastern Batticaloa district, that those who contribute money and render other assistance to the Liberation Tigers would be arrested and severely punished, as the Sri Lankan Government has proscribed the LTTE.
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One killed in firefight

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 May 1998, 23:59 GMT]
One unidentified armed man, believed to be a member of the LTTE, was killed in Mannar in the northwest of the island, this afternoon around 1.30 p.m in a firefight that lasted for 45 miniutes, said Sri Lankan police sources.
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SCF to study Vanni children's plight

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 May 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Ten thousand school children from a total of 66,000 living in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled areas, are unable go to school due to the war. These statistics were presented at a seminar in Trincomalee organised by the Ministry of Education, Cultural Affairs and Sports of the Northeast Provincial Council (NEPC), and sponsored by Save the Children Fund (SCF).
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SLA thrust ahead of anniversary?

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 May 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Large number of troops have been sent to the forward areas of Operation Jayasikurui, north of Kanakarayankulam, to defend the areas captured by the army, as troops stationed in Olumadu, 4 km. east of Mankulam, are preparing to advance towards north, said SLA sources in Vavuniya.
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UN official in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 May 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Mr. Olara Otunnu, United Nations Special Representative on Children in Armed Conflict, visited Jaffna yesterday and had meetings with the Jaffna Government Agent said sources in the Jaffna Kachcheri. He also met Maj. Gen. Balagalle, at the Palaly SLA base yesterday said SLA sources in Jaffna.
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May Day celebrated in Mannar, Pooneryn

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 May 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The May Day procession at Madhu, in the largely LTTE held Manner District, began at Thatchanamaruthamadukulam, 3 km from Madhu and proceeded to the playing fields nearby, where the LTTE's Madhu political leader unfurled the LTTE flag and addressed the gathering, said the Voice of Tigers, (VoT) in its broadcast tonight.
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No detainees held in Mannar - SLA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 April 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Sri Lankan Military and Police officers informed Mannar magistrate today that no detainees are being held in the four detention camps in Mannar, in the north-western part of the island, said a court official today.
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Fire Finder radars deployed

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 April 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The recently acquired Fire Finder Radars have been deployed by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in the Operation Jayasikurui area to identify the LTTE mortar positions, said SLA sources in Vavuniya.
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Policemen extort money from lodging residents

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 April 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Two inebriated policemen who extorted money at knife-point at two lodging houses in Mannar on Friday evening, were arrested on the orders of the Magistrate of Mannar, said sources in Mannar.
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Transit camp inmates stage protest fast

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 April 1998, 23:59 GMT]
More than two thousand people went on a token protest fast in front of the Trincomalee town and gravets divisional secretary's office today demanding that they should be sent to Jaffna as soon as possible. Many of these have been languishing in transit camps in Trincomalee town and its suburbs for more than six months for a passage to Jaffna by ship.
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No confidence motion against Gen. Ratwatte?

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 April 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) will seek an adjournment debate on the indiscriminate arrests and harassment of Tamils in Colombo and other parts of the country when the Sri Lankan Parliament resumes sittings tomorrow.
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Request for boat service turned down

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 April 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The secretary to the Sri Lankan President Mr. K. Balapatabendi turned down a suggestion by the PLOTE deputy leader to begin a passenger boat service to Jaffna from Mannar on the grounds that the A9 highway from Vavuniya to the peninsula would be opened soon at a conference this afternoon to discuss the security related problems of fisheries in Jaffna.
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Repair vehicles destroyed on A-9

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 April 1998, 23:59 GMT]
A group of armed persons, suspected to be members of the Liberation Tigers, blasted three heavy vehicles of the Sri Lankan government's Road Development Authority (RDA) which were engaged in rebuilding the A-9 highway to Jaffna between Vavuniya and Kanakarayan Kulam this afternoon around 2 p.m. at Vaarikkuttiyoor on the Vavuniya Mannar road.
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Security threat grounds passenger ship

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Lanka Muditha , a passenger ship hired by Sri Lanka's Commissioner of Essential Services, was unable to sail on its maiden voyage transporting refugees from Trincomalee to Jaffna's Kankesanthurai (KKS) port today, due to security reasons said Jaffna Kachcheri sources today.
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Three policemen killed

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers attacked the Sri Lankan Police post in Pachchnoor, south of Muthur in the Trincomalee district in the early hours of the morning today killing three Policemen and wounding four said Police sources in the eastern port town.
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Police officer's rifle snatched

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Suspected members of the Liberation Tigers grabbed an assault rifle from a Sri Lankan Police officer and made good their escape in the heart of Mannar town- a high security zone- this morning. The incident took place near the Mannar stadium.
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Mannar fishermen face more problems

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Traders in Mannar who send fish by lorry to the Colombo markets complain that they lose a lot of money in Madawachchi as some thugs in this Sinhala town are in the habit of taking away boxes of fish.
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Mannar ferry service in limbo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The District Secretariat of Mannar, has requested the Commissioner General of Essential Services (CGES) permission to run a ferry service between Mannar and Kurikattuvan in the Jaffna Peninsula, for transporting over 7000 persons, now stuck in the Mannar island as refugees, back to their homes, said sources in Mannar.
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Suicide after long detention

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
A 35 year old man who became chronically ill after spending 18 months in the Vavuniya transit camp committed suicide last Thursday, frustrated that he could not find work due to his condition which had persisted even after his release.
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