News in Brief

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Sri Lankan navy captures Tamil refugees and a bus escapes explosion

Sri Lankan navy captures Tamil refugees

A Tamil Nadu trawler carrying 49 Tamil refugees from the Vanni was intercepted by the Sri Lankan Navy in the high seas off Thalaimannar today.

The trawler was confiscated by the Navy and five South Indian fishermen were taken into custody. Reports from Mannar say that the people might be handed over to the Police later in the day.

There has been a steady flow of refugees out of the western coast of the Vanni in recent weeks mainly due to the expanding military operations of the Sri Lankan army in the region. Most of these refugee boats run by fishermen of Tamil Nadu unload their human cargo on the Ramanathapuram coast where the Mandapam refugee camp is located.

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Bus escapes explosion

A civilian bus was hit by a improvised explosive device planted on the side of the road near Kaluwanchikkudy in the Batticaloa district around 12.30 p.m. today.

Seven people were injured. Sources said that a major disaster was averted because the IED had only hit the rear of the bus and hence escaped the main impact of the explosion.

The bus was on its way to Batticaloa town from Kalmunai. There is a large STF camp in the Kaluwanchikudy town.