"Mini-battles" staged in occupied Tamil country causing anxiety among civilians

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 July 2017, 20:57 GMT]
The occupying Sinhala military has deployed military training inside in Valikaamam East and Valikaamam North during the past 3 days, especially near Vazhalaay in Valikaamam East where uprooted people were settled in military constructed houses. This is the first time large-scale coordinated field training with gunfire and RPG fire has been witnessed in the area since the regime change, the resettled families said. Similar gunfire and explosions were also heard in Valikaamam North causing anxiety among the resettled people, news sources in Jaffna said.

Informed ex-militant sources said that the SL military was preparing for a combat deployment somewhere else, as there have been reports of increased combat training activities also in other parts of occupied country of Eezham Tamils in the recent weeks.

However, details of foreign military personnel involved in the latest series of combat training are yet to emerge.

SL military has been focusing on combat diving and other specialised combat training in recent months, the ex-militant sources said.

Meanwhile, Shanmugalingam Shageevan, the chairman of Valikaamam North Welfare Association, has condemned the SL military for threatening the resettling people.

The occupying military was also bringing back the memories of the times of war through the “battle exercises” near residential areas, he said.

The people were not informed in advance and as they also intend to interpret it as a threat against them, especially to discourage them in demanding their lands back in Valikaamam North, Mr Shageevan said.