SLMM inspects scene of STF Amparai offensive

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 09:45 GMT]
Edward and Bjørn Kjelsaas, officers of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), accompanied by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Amparai District Political Head S. Jeya, inspected the destroyed houses and properties by STF artillery shelling, and spoke with the affected civilians Tuesday morning around 11:30 a.m., sources in Amparai said. Earlier, Mr Jeya, had briefed the SLMM at the LTTE political office on the Thursday's pre-dawn offensive of the Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) into Liberation Tigers territory in Kanchikudicharu.

The SLMM meeting with the LTTE district political head came in the wake of STF's Thursday attack on villages in the area surrounding Kanchikudicharu with artillery shelling from Thirukkovil, Sahama, Kanjirankudah camps, aided by Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers.

SLMM officers had told Mr Jeya that STF had stopped the SLMM from visiting the affected area soon after Thursday. STF had told the SLMM that fighting was going on between the LTTE and Karuna group and that it was not safe, Mr Jeya told the press after the meeting.

SLMM officers mentioned in the meeting that civilians detained at the Kanjirankuda STF camp has complained to SLMM that their tractor had been forcibly taken by the STF soldiers to take part in the offensive, said Jeya.