Fuel shortage threatens provision of drinking water in Vanni

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 September 2008, 10:45 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has instructed the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) not to allow Humanitarian Convoys to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Ki'linochchi district with food items provided under the United Nations World Food Programme, as a "punishment" for the people of Ki'linochhci district for not "obeying" its instruction to leave Ki'linochhi to Vavuniyaa, according to an official attached to Vavuniyaa District Secretariat. Meanwhile, North East Secretariat on Human Rights (NESoHR) in a press statement issued on Saturday said fuel shortage has severely affected the provision of drinking water to the internally displaced civilians.
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ICRC relocates in Ki'linochchi

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 September 2008, 15:23 GMT]
The residential office of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) in Ki'linochchi has relocated to Iraththinapuram, a suburb of Ki'linochchi town, from Ira'naimadu junction after Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired artillery shells began to reach 155 Mile Post, which is located on A9 between Ki'linochchi town and Ira'naimadu Junction.
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Fresh SLA advance repulsed in Vannearikku'lam - LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 September 2008, 11:32 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA), which launched a fresh attempt to advance in Vannearikku'lam on Thursday suffered heavy casualties as the Tigers repulsed the move after heavy fighting that lasted for almost four hours, LTTE military officials in Vanni told TamilNet claiming that 25 SLA soldiers were killed in the fighting and more than 40 wounded. Two dead bodies of SLA soldiers were recovered and the Tigers have seized arms and ammunitions from the battlefield. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan military officials in Colombo claimed that their forces were engaged in a 3-hour sea battle from 11:30 a.m. with the LTTE Sea Tigers in the seas off Naachchikkudaa, claiming an equal number of casualties on LTTE side.
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IDPs urge foreign aid workers not to leave Vanni, block convoy

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 September 2008, 16:50 GMT]
Internally Displaced Persons, who gathered Friday morning in front of the UNHCR office at Karadippoakku junction in Ki'linochchi, pleaded with the remaining officials of the UN and International NGOs not to leave Ki'linochchi as their presence was critical, not only for humanitarian assistance, but also to sustain a secure zone to escape. They said they feared that in the coming days Sri Lanka military will employ Colombo’s scorched earth policy to destroy key Vanni towns using aerial and artillery bombardment. Meanwhile, a group of IDPs blocked the convoy of NGO vehicles in a peaceful protest from 6:00 a.m, forcing the NGOs to abandon their trip on Friday.
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SLAF bombs school in Puthukkudiyiruppu town

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 September 2008, 06:29 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers that flew over Vanni as Black Tigers were engaged in causing destruction to Sri Lankan joint operations headquarters for Vanni in the early hours of Tuesday, bombed Puthukkudiyiruppu town, three times, with bombs that caused deep craters, according to TamilNet correspondent who visited the site. The bombers hit the premises of Sree Subramaniya Viththiyaalam school with bunker-busting bomb, where the Zonal Education Office for Mullaiththeevu zone, is also located. One house, four shops, a bookshop and a mill in the town also sustained damage in the attack. One civilian was wounded.
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'It is now the Tamil diaspora'

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 September 2008, 07:02 GMT]
A conference on Sri Lankan diaspora that took place last week in Kuala Lumpur provided an opportunity to understand the broad perspectives of the Eezham Tamil diaspora, its universal aims and development agenda on one hand and to witness the subtle efforts by certain elements to nullify its identity and hijack its noble agenda to the diplomatic benefit of the Sri Lankan state on the other hand, according to a Malaysian Tamil scholar.
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Tissainayagam, PTA, and Humanitarian Crisis in Vanni

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 September 2008, 11:45 GMT]
The action taken by the Sri Lankan Government to indict Tissainayagam, for stating the truth and exercising the right of fair comment he enjoys as a journalist, make it impossible for any dissent from the governments point of view to be published by the press in Sri Lanka. Tissainayagam is the first journalist to be caught up under the Draconian twins, the Prevention of Terrorism Act No:48 of 1979 (PTA) as amended, and the Emergency Regulations (EMR).
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Tigers locate 29 SLA bodies, 75 SLA killed, 100 wounded in Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 September 2008, 15:06 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam, on Wednesday recovered further 10 dead bodies of the SLA soldiers, in addition to the 19 bodies handed over to the ICRC, from the battlefield after Tuesday's heavy fighting on two fronts in Vanni. 45 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and more than 51 wounded in Naachchikkudaa when Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) confronted the SLA in a stiff fighting throughout Monday night, and on Tuesday, 30 more SLA soldiers were killed and 50 wounded in another front, between Akkaraayan and Vannearikku'lam, where Tiger fighters fought against the SLA from 5:30 a.m. till 6:00 p.m., on Tuesday, LTTE officials in Vanni told TamilNet.
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PHI Union urges action to locate missing official in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 01 September 2008, 08:15 GMT]
Public Health Inspectors' Union of Sri Lanka appealed to Jaffna District Director of Public Health Service to take action to find Thevasenathipathy Sukanthan, a Public Health Inspector (PHI) reported missing since 24 August after being allowed to enter Punnaalai Varatharaja Perumaa'l temple by Sri Lankan forces, to attend the annual temple festival, according to media report released by PHIU. Meanwhile, Jaffna SLA Commander Major Gen. G. A. Chandrasiri in a report to local media said that there is evidence for the exit of the missing persons from the temple on 24 August.
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NGO vehicle narrowly escapes DPU Claymore attack in Vanni

[TamilNet, Saturday, 30 August 2008, 18:53 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Deep Penetration Unit soldiers triggered a Claymore mine Friday evening around 7:00 p.m. on a convoy of FORUT, a Norwegian NGO, at Kanakaraayanku'lam, a few minutes after the convoy has passed the entry point to Vanni, Tamileelam Police officials told TamilNet Saturday. Tamileelam police officials charged that the SLA has stepped up Claymore attacks on civilian vehicles in Vanni in a bid to terrorise the people of Vanni. The NGOs and the UN agencies have become under pressure from the Sri Lankan government, which is pressurising a move to force people to vacate LTTE administered areas.
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Jury discharged in Sivaram murder case, trial put off

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 August 2008, 14:19 GMT]
Colombo High Court Judge A.T.Ratnaike Wednesday discharged the Sinhalese speaking Jury in the murder case of popular military analyst and TamilNet editorial board member Dharmeratnam Sivaram (Taraki) following the submission by the prosecution that whereabouts of one of the key prosecution witnesses was not known, legal sources said.
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Catholic commission in Vanni highlights IDPs plight

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 August 2008, 00:19 GMT]
Amid pouring rain and thundering blasts of artillery and mortar shells, more than 170,000 Internally Displaced Persons in Vanni are facing a great human tragedy, which is calculatedly concealed from the world outside, said Rev. Fr. James Pathinathan, the president of the Vanni branch of the Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jaffna, in an urgent appeal to the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, on Tuesday. "If the International Community doesn't act at once, it will be too late," he told TamilNet after handing over the memorandum to the Residential Representative of the UNHCR in Vanni.
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TID interrogates Mano Ganesan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 August 2008, 08:02 GMT]
The leader of the Western Province People's Front (WPPF) and a Member of Sri Lankan Parliament Mano Ganesan is being questioned by the Sri Lankan Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) Tuesday morning, informed sources in Colombo told TamilNet.
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University of Jaffna observes silent protest in solidarity with civilians in Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 August 2008, 09:40 GMT]
Hundreds of students and the staff of the University of Jaffna Tuesday morning gathered for a silent protest against the isolation of civilians in Vanni by the Sri Lankan government. The silent protest by the University society, expressing solidarity with thousands of displaced people in Vanni, comes after a long period of time marked with targeted annihilation of protesting voices in Jaffna.
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Colombo instructs Mullaiththeevu, Ki'linochchi GAs to work from Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 August 2008, 10:37 GMT]
Government Agents of Mullaiththeevu and Ki'linochchi districts are reported to have been 'advised' by the Colombo Public Administration and the Sri Lankan Home Affairs Ministry to work from Vavuniyaa due to 'tense situation' in the two districts, informed sources told TamilNet.
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TamilNet to be down for maintenance

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 August 2008, 20:17 GMT]
TamilNet will be taking the web server down Sunday night for four to six hours on scheduled maintenance purpose, starting from 23:01 GMT Saturday.
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Government officials urge SLA to observe Safety Zones

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 August 2008, 08:10 GMT]
The target of the artillery attack of the Sri Lanka Army in the early hours of Friday in Mullaiththeevu was a residential enclave located within 500 meters radius of the Mullaiththeevu General Hospital, housing the Mullaiththeevu Government Agent (GA), the Medical Superintendent (MS) and many other government officials, who coordinate the essential services of the district. The attack was timed before a token protest scheduled for Friday by the government servants to voice against the killing of the Deputy Planning Director, Poonakari, in a claymore attack two weeks ago. TamilNet’s Vanni correspondent talked to the GA and the MS on Friday noon.
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Sri Lanka steps up offensive in Ma'nalaa'ru, LTTE recovers SLA dead bodies

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 August 2008, 06:50 GMT]
LTTE officials told TamilNet Thursday that their defensive formations seized arms and ammunition after pushing back the SLA troops that attempted to advance further into LTTE territory in Ma'nalaa'ru (Weli Oya) region. Four dead bodies of the SLA were also recovered by the Tigers. Arrangements were underway to hand over the dead bodies through the ICRC, according to the LTTE officials.
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Child killed, Mullaiththeevu GA wounded in SLA shelling

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 August 2008, 05:54 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched an indiscriminate artillery barrage in the early hours of Friday. Official residences of Mullaiththeevu District Secretary (Government Agent) and the doctors of Mullaiththeevu hospital, located inside the hospital premises were hit by the shelling. The artillery barrage killed an 18-month-old baby and caused injuries to 16 civilians, including the GA, Ms. Imelda Sukumar, who was at her official residence and Medical Superintendent Dr. V. Shanmugarajah's wife, hospital officials told TamilNet. Meanwhile, the Director of LTTE's Peace Secretariat S. Puleedevan, blamed the Sri Lankan government for repeatedly violating the Geneva Conventions during its offensive.
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23 Sri Lankan soldiers killed in Claymore ambush in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 August 2008, 10:29 GMT]
23 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and four wounded in a Claymore ambush at Periyavaddavaan in Tharavai (Thoppikkal) area in Batticaloa district Tuesday evening around 6:30, well informed sources in Batticaloa told TamilNet. Wounded soldiers were admitted to Welikande hospital. This is the first major ambush on SLA since the Sri Lankan forces occupied the Thoppikkal region an year ago.
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