News in Brief:

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 April 1999, 21:51 GMT]
SLA investigates Tiger members' families, a senior EPDP cadre is killed, food convoys fail to arrive and free telephone calls for two days.

SLA investigates Tigers' families

The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) at Nagar Kovil in the Jaffna peninsula called more than thirty families in the area for a meeting at its camp this afternoon. Children from these families are said to be members of the Liberation Tigers currently or were formerly in organisation or are among its war dead.

The SLA had identified the families on this basis.

The purpose of the meeting was to monitor the activities of the Liberation Tigers in the Nagar Kovil area sources said.

Meanwhile, a soldier was killed and two wounded in an explosion close to an SLA position at Muhamaalai in the Thenmaradchi division of Jaffna this morning around 7.30 a.m. this morning.

Sources in Palai said that the explosion was caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) set off by the Liberation Tigers.

However, the Police at Chavakachcheri claimed the blast was inside the SLA bunker and appears to an accident.

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Senior EPDP cadre killed

A cadre of the Eelam People's Democratic Party, Ramasamy Arumugam, alias Rosaan, 26, was critically injured when a grenade exploded in Neduntheevu yesterday and succumbed to his wounds this morning at the island's hospital a spokesman for his group in Jaffna said.

He said that the explosion was an accident.

Rosaan holds the rank of Lt.Colonel in the EPDP, a paramilitary group that operates with the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in operations against the Liberation Tigers (LTTE).

He was from Krurmankaadu in Vavuniya, according to the EPDP spokesman.

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Vanni food supplies fail to arrive

Sources in the Vanni said today that only 36 of the 125 food lorries scheduled for the region have been sent since the SLA permitted a food convoy into areas not under its control. Shortages continue in the Vanni as a consequence of this they said.

Meanwhile, Mr.A.A Edward, the Mannar Deputy Land Commissioner told TamilNet's Mannar correspondent that the distribution of dry rations to refugees in the Madhu region which was stopped in mid March due to SLA operations is expected to resume tomorrow.

The official returned from Madhu this evening after visiting the region as a representative of the Mannar Government Agent(GA).

He said that dry rations would have to be distributed to more than 20,000 refugees through the branches of the Madhu Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society (MPCS).

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Free telephone calls

Sri Lanka's main telecommunications company said today that all local and long distance calls on its lines would be free from 6 a.m. April 13 to 6 a.m. April 15.

International calls during this period would be charged half rate if talk time is more than five minutes the company's Deputy General Manager for the North-eastern region Mr. S.Kanagasuriyar said today.