Armed men, LTTE cadres clash in Vavunathivu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 October 2005, 08:01 GMT]
A group of men in military fatigues launched an ambush on an LTTE convoy in Vavunathivu, 5 kilometers west of Batticaloa Monday night. LTTE sources in the East said three of their cadres sustained injuries in the counterstrike. The clash took place at the entrance to the LTTE controlled area in Vavunathivu around 10:00 p.m. on Monday. Vavunathivu is located 5 km west of Batticaloa.

Around 15 heavily armed men moved beyond the no-man zone in Vavunathivu attempting to target an LTTE convoy moving along the border.

LTTE sources said that their cadres launched a counterstrike at the group which withdrew towards Vavunathivu SLA camp.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Army sources, denying their involvement, said that the ambush targeted LTTE's Special Commander Col. Bhanu.

Continous firing was heard for more than 10 minutes, according to civilians in the area.