Search operation in Mannar

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 March 2000, 10:06 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army soldiers conducted a cordon and search operation in Thaarapuram in Mannar from early hours of the morning today. About 50 families, displaced from Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu are living in this Muslim village.

The troops ordered the villagers to gather at Alminah school where they were interrogated in front of two masked spotters, sources said.

Five youths identified by the spotters were detained. The troops confiscated their national identity cards and asked them to report at the Mannar CID office on Monday.