SLA engaged in vacating civilians from Vadamaraadchi East

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 January 2009, 21:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers advancing from Ezhuthumadduvaa’l in Thenmaraadchi into areas earlier held by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Vadamaraadchi are forcibly vacating permanent residents from their villages, sources in Chaavakachcheari said. 208 persons belonging to nearly 50 families brought to Kodikaamam by the SLA soldiers were handed over to Kodikaamam police who produced them before Chaavakachcheari magistrate Tuesday. Directed by the magistrate the vacated civilians have been placed in Jaffna Government Agent’s (GA) special hostel in Koappaay.

The forcibly vacated residents are from Vettilaikkea’ni, Thaa’laiyadi, Vaththaraayan, Uduththu’rai and Aazhiyava’lai areas in Vadamaraadchi East.

Civilians from the coastal areas in Vadamaraadchi who had tried to escape in their boats and arrested by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) are also among the persons brought to Jaffna peninsula.

The 208 persons were sheltered for the night Monday in Kodikaamam Thirunaavukkarasu Viththiyaalayam after they were handed over to Kodikaamam police.

Meanwhile, Point Pedro police said that around a hundred civilians, most of them youths, from the coastal areas in Naakarkoayil in Vadamaraadchi have been caught while trying to flee war by sea.

Though Point Pedro police have been informed of the above arrests it still not known whether it was the SLA or SLN that hade made the arrests, the police said.