SLN brings 'spotters' in ambulance, arrests seven

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 May 2001, 11:50 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Navy arrested seven civilians from Pesalai, 16 kilometres west of Mannar town, during a search operation in the residential sector and the two refugee camps of the village Saturday morning. The Navy brought two hooded ëspottersí in an ambulance after it cordoned off the two refugee camps and division 5, 6 and 7 from 5 a.m. in the morning. The civilians who were pointed out by the two 'spotters' were arrested and taken away by the SLN. The search comes in the wake of claymore blast Friday in Thoattaveli, near Pesalai, in which two Special Task Force commandos were wounded.

Two inmates of the Pesalai refugee camp were among the seven civilians who were arrested by the SLN Saturday. Relatives said the two, Pliman Johnson, 29 and Devadasan Raveese, 30, are from Vidaththalthivu, a large village on a promontory northeast of Mannar.

There are more than five thousand refugees mostly from Mullaithivu, Vidaththalthivu and those parts of mainland Mannar that are not under the control of the Sri Lanka army.

A section of the Pesalai refugee camp. (Photo: TamilNet)

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