Tamils forced to leave homes at Habarana

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 November 2006, 13:22 GMT]
Many Tamils, living in the Habarana area where more than 100 Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) troopers were killed in a blast of a pickup truck loaded with explosives on October 16, are moving out of their homes as many Tamils are being arrested in the frequent cordon and search operations held in the area by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and the police.

Tamils traders at the Dambulla Marketing Centre, tobacco and vegetable cultivators, and rice mill workers are mostly impacted by the security situation and forced to leave their homes, said the sources.

Around 32 Tamils from Galewela, Matale north, Pelvesha and other areas were arrested by the SLA and the police in the cordon off and search conducted last week around Dambulla area, said Dambulla police.

12 of the arrested Tamils are from Batticaloa, Mullaitihivu and Vavuniya, said Sigiriya police.