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TamilNet Newswire

Latest 20 TamilNet reports from Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: SLAF bombardment kills 3 civilians near Mu'rika'ndi
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers attacked a civilian settlement killing three Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who were dismantling their huts and preparing to leave their location between 55th Mile Post and Mu'rika'ndi Tuesday around 11:00 a.m., according to medical sources. Three IDPs sustained injuries in the bombardment. Six SLAF bombers were engaged in bombing three locations, each twice Tuesday morning in Vanni.
Sri Lanka: 22 SLA killed in Akkaraayan fighting, arms seized, say Tigers
More than 22 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and at least 53 wounded Monday when the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) put up stiff resistance against the SLA offensive units that advanced in Akkaraayan area, southwest of Ki'linochchi district, the Tigers said. Releasing photographs taken from the battlefield where they recovered four SLA dead bodies and seized rocket launchers and machine guns, the LTTE officials told media in Vanni that the SLA was pushed back. Clearing mission was still going on, the Tigers said. Meanwhile, SLA officials in Colombo put their casualties as low as 3 killed in action and 9 wounded.
Sri Lanka: Pirapaharan pays homage to Thileepan on 21st anniversary
Velupillai Pirapaharan, the leader of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) paid homage to Lt. Col. Thileepan on Monday at an undisclosed location in Vanni, when the Tigers commenced to mark the 21st death anniversary of Thileepan's fast to death campaign, according to LTTE officials in Vanni.
Sri Lanka: 3 Tamils abducted in Uddappu, released
Three Tamils including a woman abducted Friday by unidentified armed men in a white van at Uddappu, a Tamil village in Chilaw district, were released Sunday morning, Munthal police said. They were forcibly taken away from their houses by the armed men in the white van.
Sri Lanka: Shoot at sight order on persons entering Moneragala jungles
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has launched a search operation in the jungles that come under the Divisional Secretariat divisions of Moneragala, Siyambalanduwa and Buttala in the Moneragala district in the Uva province for strangers alleged to be hiding following the killing of seven Sinhala villagers last week. SLA has warned that those who enter the jungles while the search operation is in progress will be shot at sight, Moneragala sources said.
Sri Lanka: SLA restricts devotees performing ritual in Chelvachchannathi Temple
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna did not permit all the devotees who attended the water-cutting (Theertham)ceremony held Monday in Tho’ndaimaanaa’ru Chelvachchannathi temple located on the east of Tho’ndaimaanaa’ru lagoon to perform their annual water-cutting rituals of bathing in the lagoon. Only a few of the many thousands who wanted to perform this rite were allowed to bathe in the lagoon by the SLA soldiers who were deployed in large numbers around the temple precincts. Thousands of devotees from all parts of Jaffna peninsula attended the Thear festival (car) held Sunday and the water-cutting festival Monday.
Sri Lanka: Corpse of Indian citizen washed ashore in Nedunththeevu (Delft)
Nedunththeevu police recovered the body of a 77-year-old Indian citizen found washed ashore Sunday at Nedunththeevu, an islet of Jaffna, on information given by local residents. Monday evening another corpse, suspected to be that of a Tamil person from Mannaar fleeing to Tamil Nadu by boat which had capsized mid-sea, was found on Queen’s Tower beach in Nedunththeevu by local residents, Nedunththeevu police said.
Sri Lanka: UN expects LTTE to provide safe passage to its convoy
The United Nations office of the Resident / Humanitarian Coordinator for Sri Lanka, in a statement issued on Monday in Colombo, said it intends to move remaining UN and humanitarian agency staff in a single convoy at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday and that it expects the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) to provide safe passage to the convoy towards Oamanthai crossing.
Sri Lanka: 3 civilians including a woman seek refuge with HRC Jaffna
A young woman from Kaithadi North in Thenmaraadchi and two brothers from Navakkiri in Puththoor area in Valikaamam sought refuge with Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna office Monday due to death threats by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and SLA-backed paramilitaries, according to their complaints to HRC. The recent killing of a woman by unidentified armed men in Kaithadi North was the reason for the young woman to seek refuge while the brothers sought refuge following the recent shooting in Navakkiri area seriously injuring a mother and her daughter, according to statements to the HRC by the complainants.
EU calls for respect of international humanitarian law in Sri Lanka
Louis Michel, the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, has expressed his grave concern over the escalation of the conflict in Sri Lanka and the effects on innocent civilians. The Commissioner, in a press release issued on Monday, stressed that both parties to the conflict should respect their obligations under international humanitarian law. These include not just ensuring the safety and free movement of civilians - but also ensuring that humanitarian aid reaches people in need.
Sri Lanka: STF killed in Tiger shelling in Ampaa'rai
A Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) trooper was killed and five sustained injuries Sunday around 7:00 a.m. when Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) fired shells targeted Udumpangku'lam STF camp in Kanghikudichchaa'ru, according to informed sources in the East.
Sri Lanka: Heavy fighting in Akkaraayan, arms seized, 4 SLA bodies recovered - LTTE
The Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) officials in Vanni told media that their forces were engaged in a stiff fighting with the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) that launched a fresh attempt to advance in the south of Akkaraayan Monday while the SLA shelling reached the A9 highway. The Tigers said their fighters have located dead bodies of four SLA soldiers and seized weapons including six RPG launchers, nine LMGs and more than 20 assault rifles from the battlefield, causing heavy casualties to the SLA.
Sri Lanka: 2 SLA killed in Maha Oya, arms seized - LTTE
Two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed when Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) ambushed a motorbike patrol of the SLA in Maha Oya area, situated between Batticaloa district and Badulla district Monday morning around 7:30 a.m., the Tigers said adding that they seized a AK-47 and a T-56-type-2 assault rifles from the SLA with ammunitions.
Sri Lanka: India: While taking action against LTTE, steps should also be taken to protect civilians
India's Defence Minister A K Antony was quoted by Press Trust of India (PTI) on Monday as saying: "While taking action against the LTTE, steps should also be taken to protect the civilian Tamils in Sri Lanka and ensure their safety and security." The statement by the Indian Defence Minister has come in the wake of reports that Indian military personnel were involved in providing military support to the Sri Lankan forces.
Sri Lanka: SLA shells A9 at Mu'rika'ndi
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has launched heavy artillery and Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) fire targeting A9 and the surrounding villages at Mu'rika'ndi from 7:00 a.m. Monday, according to initial reports from the area. At least one civilian was wounded in the artillery barrage and two shops in Mu'rika'ndi junction were destroyed in the shelling. Civilians were fleeing from 55th Mile Post and Ira'naimadu junction where ICRC Ki'linochchi office is located. All traffic on A9 to Oamanthai exit point has been cut off due to the artillery barrage.
Sri Lanka: History rejects military defeat of liberation movements- Gajendrakumar
Responding to a question on year-end dead line set by the Government of Sri Lanka to defeat the Liberation Tigers, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian from Jaffna said, "We have been told many times and by many governments of Sri Lanka that the war will be won and that the LTTE will be defeated...I am yet to come across an instance when a national liberation movement in any part of the world has been militarily defeated," in an interview published in Colombo weekly the Sunday Leader 14th edition.
Sri Lanka: Armed men in Black suit kill two Tamil villagers in Trincomalee
Unidentified armed men shot and killed two Tamil villagers, 50 years and 27 years of age, Saturday night at Kappalthu'rai in Chinabay Police division in Trincomalee district. The armed men entered the village Saturday night dressed in black suit and had shot dead the victims in their houses.
Sri Lanka: Australian NGO Director warns of Humanitarian Disaster in the absence of foreign aid workers
The extreme humanitarian situation of Internally Displaced Persons, including thousands of children, who are already malnourished, would deteriorate dramatically as clean water is not available for all the IDPs and they have been deprived of medicine by the Sri Lankan government, said Executive Director Paul O'Callaghan of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), which has 25 member organisations working in Sri Lanka over many decades. He has expressed fear of a blood bath as foreign aid workers of UN agencies and NGOs packed their bags following the orders by the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) to leave the Vanni region last week.
Sri Lanka: Building contractor shot dead in the islets of Jaffna
Unidentified gunmen alleged to be Tamil paramilitary persons following a building contrator on motor cycle shot and killed him Saturday around 5:30 p.m at Charava'nai Kaa'li Koayiladi in Veala’nai, in the islets of Jaffna, sources in Oorkaavattu’rai (Kayts) said. The victim’s two brothers who had been combatants in militant groups had died in the past, the sources added.
Sri Lanka: Wife identifies decapitated body recovered in Vadamaraadchi
The identity of the male whose decapitated body with signs of severe torture was recovered Friday by Nelliyadi police, near a bridge 400m from Kapputhoo Sri Lanka Army (SLA) main camp along Kuyilangka’ndi Road, has been identified by the victim’s wife, sources in Point Pedro said. Kapputhoo is located between Thenmaraadchi and Vadamaraadchi.