Armed men shoot dead Tamil civilian in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 September 2008, 14:59 GMT]
Unidentified armed men shot dead a Tamil man in his house on Wednesday morning around 10:30 a.m. at Vasanthan Kudiyiruppu in A'n'naa Nakar in Vavuniyaa police division. The victim, a married man, was identified as 30-year-old Sivalingam Ronald.
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Tamil man reported missing in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 September 2008, 08:58 GMT]
Armed men riding in a white van abducted a 34-year-old Tamil civilian Monday night around 10:00, at his residence in Thu'raineelaava'nai in Ampaa'rai. The victim, Thambirasa Pirahalathan, is a father of two children.
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3 killed, DPU Claymore targets bus on A9

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 September 2008, 06:33 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) infiltrators Thursday morning triggered a Claymore mine targeting a passenger bus, which was on its way from Pu'liyangku'lam to Ki'linochchi on A9 Road, killing at least three civilians, including the driver of the bus on the spot, accordingo to initial reports from the Tamileelam Police. Meanwhile, medical sources reported that five civilians were rushed to hospitals after the blast.
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SLA blocks humanitarian supplies to Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 September 2008, 15:25 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Vavunkyaa turned away Wednesday fifteen lorries carrying humanitarian supplies to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Ki'linochchi district. Officials attached to the Ki'linochchi GA office said the sudden blocking by the SLA of the much needed medicine and essential supplies, which were already delayed for weeks, would affect thousands as many more civlians were being made IDPs in the district.
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SLAF attack in Vaddakkachchi targets civilians, 2 wounded

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 September 2008, 07:20 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), which attacked Vaddakkaachchi, 3 km east of Ki'linochchi town Wednesday morning while claiming that it targeted a 'high profile hideout' of the Tigers, dropped bombs on a densely populated settlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IPDs) on Hudson Road, wounding two, a 14-year-old boy and a father of three. A 15-year-old girl fainted as her father sustained injuries.
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SLAF steps up air-strikes on civilian settlements in Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 September 2008, 06:26 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers attacked civilian settlements in Vanni killing three Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and wounding five on Tuesday. One air-strike targeted IDPs who were dismantling their huts to leave from Mu'rika'ndi 155 Mile Post area that has been targeted by SLA shelling since Monday, as foreign aid workers and NGO officials were leaving the region. Six houses have been destroyed by the SLAF bombers that bombed four locations, with more than 16 bombs. Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired artillery shells targeting Puthumu'rippu, Oottuppulam, Chaanthapuram and Ira'naimadu area from 7:40 p.m.
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UN expects LTTE to provide safe passage to its convoy

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 September 2008, 15:42 GMT]
The United Nations office of the Resident / Humanitarian Coordinator for Sri Lanka, in a statement issued on Monday in Colombo, said it intends to move remaining UN and humanitarian agency staff in a single convoy at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday and that it expects the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) to provide safe passage to the convoy towards Oamanthai crossing.
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3 civilians including a woman seek refuge with HRC Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 September 2008, 14:04 GMT]
A young woman from Kaithadi North in Thenmaraadchi and two brothers from Navakkiri in Puththoor area in Valikaamam sought refuge with Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna office Monday due to death threats by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and SLA-backed paramilitaries, according to their complaints to HRC. The recent killing of a woman by unidentified armed men in Kaithadi North was the reason for the young woman to seek refuge while the brothers sought refuge following the recent shooting in Navakkiri area seriously injuring a mother and her daughter, according to statements to the HRC by the complainants.
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EU calls for respect of international humanitarian law in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 September 2008, 12:05 GMT]
Louis Michel, the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, has expressed his grave concern over the escalation of the conflict in Sri Lanka and the effects on innocent civilians. The Commissioner, in a press release issued on Monday, stressed that both parties to the conflict should respect their obligations under international humanitarian law. These include not just ensuring the safety and free movement of civilians - but also ensuring that humanitarian aid reaches people in need.
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India: While taking action against LTTE, steps should also be taken to protect civilians

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 September 2008, 09:30 GMT]
India's Defence Minister A K Antony was quoted by Press Trust of India (PTI) on Monday as saying: "While taking action against the LTTE, steps should also be taken to protect the civilian Tamils in Sri Lanka and ensure their safety and security." The statement by the Indian Defence Minister has come in the wake of reports that Indian military personnel were involved in providing military support to the Sri Lankan forces.
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SLA shells A9 at Mu'rika'ndi

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 September 2008, 08:08 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has launched heavy artillery and Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) fire targeting A9 and the surrounding villages at Mu'rika'ndi from 7:00 a.m. Monday, according to initial reports from the area. At least one civilian was wounded in the artillery barrage and two shops in Mu'rika'ndi junction were destroyed in the shelling. Civilians were fleeing from 55th Mile Post and Ira'naimadu junction where ICRC Ki'linochchi office is located. All traffic on A9 to Oamanthai exit point has been cut off due to the artillery barrage.
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History rejects military defeat of liberation movements- Gajendrakumar

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 September 2008, 18:22 GMT]
Responding to a question on year-end dead line set by the Government of Sri Lanka to defeat the Liberation Tigers, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian from Jaffna said, "We have been told many times and by many governments of Sri Lanka that the war will be won and that the LTTE will be defeated...I am yet to come across an instance when a national liberation movement in any part of the world has been militarily defeated," in an interview published in Colombo weekly the Sunday Leader 14th edition.
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Australian NGO Director warns of Humanitarian Disaster in the absence of foreign aid workers

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 September 2008, 09:42 GMT]
The extreme humanitarian situation of Internally Displaced Persons, including thousands of children, who are already malnourished, would deteriorate dramatically as clean water is not available for all the IDPs and they have been deprived of medicine by the Sri Lankan government, said Executive Director Paul O'Callaghan of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), which has 25 member organisations working in Sri Lanka over many decades. He has expressed fear of a blood bath as foreign aid workers of UN agencies and NGOs packed their bags following the orders by the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) to leave the Vanni region last week.
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2 Tamils abducted in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 September 2008, 19:24 GMT]
Two Tamil civilians were abducted in Colombo in two separate incidents. The latest abduction was reported from Colombo where a 35 year-old Sahathevan Uthayakumar, a native of Nalloor in Jaffna district had been missing since Friday morning. He had been residing in Sea Street along with his father. He had been working in Colombo as a motor mechanic. He was allegedly taken by force by some unidentified armed men when he was returning home after work, according to complaints made to the Police by his father.
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SLAF bombs Vaddakkachchi, child injured

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 September 2008, 16:53 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Air force (SLAF) Kfir bombers dropped eight bombs in Vaddakkachchi area of Ki’linochchi district Saturday morning 8:20 a.m. targeting civilian settlements wounding a 7-year old child, sources in Vaddakkachchi said.
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Ban Ki-moon 'helping LTTE' – Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 September 2008, 15:35 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s hardline government Thursday criticised United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for expressing deep concern about Tamil civilians in the Vanni region. Sri Lankan human rights ministry official Rajiva Wijesinghe told reporters that there were no civilian casualties in the Colombo government’s ongoing offensive and that the UN Chief’s comments were helping the LTTE.
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Sampanthan on excluding UN missions: Sri Lankan State destroys its sovereignty

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 September 2008, 07:41 GMT]
"The Sri Lankan Government, though it talks big about its concern for the displaced people in Vanni, does nothing more than make available to these people the meagre food items provided under the United Nations World Food Programme," said R. Sampanthan, the parliamentary group leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), while addressing the Sri Lankan Parliament on Tuesday. Also noting the Sri Lankan state's refusal to establish UN presence for monitoring the Human Rights violations, the senior Tamil politician blamed the Sri Lankan state for contributing to the "erosion and eventual destruction of its own sovereignty," in a lengthy speech during the debate on extending Emergency.
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Civilian reported missing, another abducted in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 September 2008, 19:26 GMT]
A young family man from Kachcheari-Nalloor road is reported missing after he left home Tuesday early morning to work, according to the complaint registered with Jaffna Human Rights Commission (HRC) by his wife Wednesday. Meanwhile, unidentified armed men in a white van abducted a family man from his house at Kalvayal, Chaavakachcheari in Thenmaraadchi Monday night, his wife complained to HRC Jaffna.
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5 Tamil civilians arrested in Badulla

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 September 2008, 13:27 GMT]
Badulla police took into custody seven persons including five Tamil civilians, all of them upcountry residents, in a cordon and search operation conducted from Monday evening till Tuesday dawn. They are being detained in Badulla police station as they have failed to prove their identity, Badulla police said.
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SLAF bombs Ki'linochchi town, 3 civilians wounded

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 September 2008, 01:46 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers attacked Ki'linochchi town Wednesday around 7:00 a.m., wounding a 90-year-old man and a 11-year-old boy and causing damage to 23 houses. A 23-year-old pregnant mother was to be operated due to fetal death, caused by the bombardment and a 1-year-old child was admitted in fainted state, medical sources said. The attack has taken place at the heart of the town where NGO offices, residences, civilian facilities and other offices are located. The Sri Lankan bombers fired 16 bombs and deployed lethal air bursts, causing wide destruction. NGO office of Seva Lanka and a store of OXFAM are located 100 meters from the attack site.
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