Tension in Vavunatheevu

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Tension is high and continuous vigilance is being maintained in the area surrounding the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) camp near Vavunatheevu, two km west of Batticaloa, because it is suspected that two Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) members have infiltrated the area, said sources.

On Thursday around 1:00 a.m., a group of six LTTE members are said to have gone to the home of a resident of the area and asked for water.

The Tigers had not known that the resident was a member of the Razeek Group, a paramilitary organisation working with the Sri Lanka Army (SLA). Once the group withdrew, the man is said to have alerted the SLA.

The area was soon swarming with members of the Special Forces (SF) on trailer motorbikes who carried out a meticulous house to house search after cordoning off the area. They arrested a young man called Atchchuthan.

The SLA claims that of the six Tigers, four had left and the other two are in hiding in the area.

It is believed that the Tigers came by boat from across the nearby Batticaloa lagoon, from the areas in their control on the other side of the water.