News in Brief

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 September 1998, 20:19 GMT]
A landmine severely wounded a woman in Jaffna today, six convicts escape from Kalutara prison, and a Sinhala newspaper claims the LTTE may strike in Colombo.

Landmine cripples mother

Arunthavam Thangaraani,45, a mother of six children lost her left leg completely below the knee this morning around 10 a.m when she stepped on an anti personnel mine while gathering fire wood near the old cinema hall in Mallakam in Jaffna.

Thangaraani's family was displaced from Myliddy. Her family was living in dire poverty as they had lost all their belongings and livelihood in the war and during their displacement.

She eked out a living by doing odd jobs and by collecting firewood said a source who knows Thangaraani's family.

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Kalutara convicts escape

Six convicts escaped late last night from the kalutara jail said prison authorities today. The six belonged to an underworld gang they said.

Although prison officials claimed that the six had escaped in a jail break, sources said that there are grounds to believe that they had got out with assistance from some jail guards.

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Paper warns of LTTE strike

A Sinhala news paper, Lakbima, says that the LTTE is preparing for a big attack in Colombo and the surrounding areas.

The paper claims that an LTTE spy group known as the 'Dosi-group' has been gathering intelligence in Colombo.

The paper says that a lorry that arrived in Colombo with explosives in May this year is going to be used for this purpose.