Tigers attack Razeek group in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 December 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers attacked the Razeek group which had been waiting in ambush for them in the Punnaikudah area east of Eravur town which is about eight kilometers north of Batticaloa this morning around 10.45 a.m.

Unconfirmed initial reports from the area said that five members of the Razeek group were killed in the LTTE's counter ambush.

The Thalavai - Punnaikudah area is becoming a regular scene of confrontation between this ex-Tamil militant group (of the EPRLF) now working as full time soldiers with the Sri Lankan army and the Liberation Tigers who often cross the area.

Meanwhile Liberation Tigers shelled the Peythalai SLA camp in Valaichenai north of Batticaloa this morning around 8.30 a.m.

The LTTE fired at the camp from the island of Naasivanthivu Details of casualties in the camp were not known. The army retaliated by firing several rounds of heavy mortar on the island.

However, sources in Valaichenai say that people in Naasivanthivu had run away to safety as soon as the LTTE had begun firing from their positions.