SLA-Police joint cordon and search in Vadamaradchi

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 July 2003, 19:48 GMT]
A joint cordon and search operation by the Sri Lanka Army and the Police was conducted in the Vadamaradchi area of the Jaffna district Monday evening, civil sources said.

Civil groups said that it was the first such operation in the Vadamaradchi area since the signing of the ceasefire agreement by the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Around four in the afternoon Monday, SLA soldiers arrived in heavy armored vehicles such as Saladdin and Buffel. Roadblocks were set up at several strategic points, and the public was subjected to intrusive checks, sources said

The SLA soldiers and the police personnel surrounded the LTTE political office in the Vadamaradchi area during the search operation and this created tension in the area. High officials of the SLA located in the division supervised the search operation, sources said.