Cordon and search operation in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 February 2000, 15:19 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Police rounded up residents of Vairavapuliyankulam area in Vavuniya from early morning till noon today, and conducted a search operation, sources said.

After completing a house-to-house search, the army personnel ordered the residents to assemble at the Vairavapuliyankulam Children's Park and examined the indentity cards and the residency permits.

The villagers were then allowed to return home. No arrests were made, the residents said.

Residents further said that, inspite of the presence of numerous checkpoints that dot Vavuniya streets, such sudden roundups in Vavuniya town and its surrounding areas have been on the increase recently.

In addition to subjecting suspicious persons to extensive interrogation, the SLA closely examines their identity cards and the residency permits, and records the details of the dates of issue and ID numbers, villagers caught in the search operation said.

The SLA also closely scrutinizes the vehicle numbers on bicycles of passersby to see if the numbers match those in bicycles owned by soldiers manning the checkpoints.