SLA reinforces artillery batteries in Northern Front

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 October 2006, 16:59 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) was seen moving truck loads of military hardware from its Palaly main base to Forward Defence Lines in Jaffna Monday. Consignments of artillery ammunition, mortar shells, and rockets were rushed in heavy military vehicles via two routes, Palaly-Jafffna Road leading to the A9 Muhamalai FDL, Ariyalai area and Point Pedro Road towards Nagarkovil FDL in Vadamaradchi East since Saturday night. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Navy ordered fishermen in Gurunagar to hand over more than 240 outboard motors and fishing boats, according to fisheries union officials in Jaffna.

The boats had been rendered inactive for the last 3 months by the SLN ban on fishing imposed in the Gurunagar seas that connect the Pooneryn bay bordering the LTTE territory.

The Sri Lankan military has already confiscated outboard motors of fishermen in Vadamaradchi from Pt. Pedro Munai up to Thondaimanaru along the northern coast and instructed the fishermen not to hold their fishing boats near the coast.

Earlier, the fishermen in northern coast were forced to fill the mooring points and jetties with stones.