Multiple air strikes target civilian infrastructure in Ki'linochchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 October 2008, 13:22 GMT]
A key sluice transporting water to thousands of acres of agricultural lands in Vanni sustained damage in Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) indiscriminate bombardment Friday morning around 9:30 a.m., at Paravippaagnchaan, near Ki'linochchi town where LTTE's Peace Secretariat is located. Meanwhile, SLAF bombers dropped bombs in the vicinity of the UNICEF office located at Kaneasapuram in Ki'linochchi three times between 3:35 and 4:00 p.m. Centre for Women's Development and Rehabilitation (CWDR) was heavily damaged in the air strike.
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SLAF attacks Tamileelam Police HQ, artillery barrage on Ki'linochchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 October 2008, 04:58 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force Kfir bombers attacked the Headquarters complex of the Tamileelam Police, located along the A9 Road at the heart of Ki'linochchi town Friday around 9:30 a.m. Three bunker-busting bombs hit the premises of the Tamileelam Police, destroying a hall behind the Police HQ.The main building escaped destruction as Ratha Anti-Aircraft Unit of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileealm (LTTE) fired at the bombers. Two of the bombs hit the nearby store of the Tamils Rehabilitation Orgsniation (TRO) causing damage to it. The attack comes after continuous barrage of artillery and Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) fire from 7:00 p.m. on Thursday to 4:30 a.m. on Friday, targeting the destruction of the township.
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Motorcycle gang abducts family man in Valikaamam

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 2008, 19:14 GMT]
Unidentified armed men arriving on more than seven motorcycles abducted a family man from his house in Cha'ndilippaay area in Valikaamam Wednesday night, according to the complaint made by his wife to Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna office Thursday. Local residents said that the abduction is related to the Monday night attack on a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) road patrol unit at Maasiyappiddi allegedly by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
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Sri Lankan Police arrest 2 Saiva priests, 8 civilians in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 2008, 19:02 GMT]
Maanippaay police, during a search conducted Tuesday in Kalvayal Murukan temple and Cheera'ni Amman temple in Valikaamam West, arrested the resident priests of the two Saiva temples, and eight civilians including the two trustees of the temples and persons who came to worship, sources in Maanipay said.
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Two fishermen reported missing in Vadmaraadchi East

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 2008, 09:02 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) gunboats entered the waters off Maruthangkea'ni coast in Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) controlled Vadamaraadchi East Wednesday night and opened fire on the fishing boats Wednesday night. Two fishermen from Vaththiraayan, who went for fishing are reported missing.
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SLAF attacks LTTE Peace Secretariat, Political Division HQ

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 2008, 08:25 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force on Thursday attacked the Head Office of the Political Section of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelalam and the LTTE Peace Secretariat, both located close to each other at the heart of the Ki'linochchi town. The attack, reported around 1:00 p.m., also caused damage to nearby houses and the roads. Two civilians were killed and five wounded in the air-strike, according to initial reports.
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Tortured Tamil given asylum in U.S. after 7 years in detention

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 12:26 GMT]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California announced Wednesday an immigration victory for Ahilan Nadarajah, an ethnic Tamil farmer who, after being tortured in his native Sri Lanka, sought asylum in the United States. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in the U.S. held him for nearly seven years, first in immigration jail and later under electronic monitoring because of secret, fake evidence accusing him of being a 'terrorist'.
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Rebuilt SLN base in Nedunththeevu officially opened

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 2008, 12:22 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) Northern region officially opened a rebuilt SLN base, fitted with new radars and other modern equipment, in Nedunththeevu (Delft), Monday, in a ceremony attended by top officials of SLN Northern region, sources in Nedunththeevu said. The base was destroyed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Sea Tigers in 2008. The previous SLN commander was replaced, and the newly appointed SLN commander of the Nedunththeevu base officially assumed duties at the opening ceremony.
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Britain to aid displaced through functioning NGOs in Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 September 2008, 16:29 GMT]
Representatives of British Tamils Forum who met the British Minister for the Department for International Development (DFID) Shahid Malik, on Tuesday in London, quoted the Minister as saying that the British Government did not agree with the general assessment of the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) that all local Tamil NGOs, which are currently working within the Vanni area were all controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The British aid would be channelled through local and international NGOs to the displaced civilians in Vanni.
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LTTE: SL military post raided in Trincomalee, 4 killed

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 September 2008, 08:31 GMT]
Four Sri Lankan military personnel, including Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and homeguards, who were manning a military post in Kantha'laay (Kantale) in Trincomalee district were killed Monday morning when Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) carried out a raid on the military post in the high security area, LTTE's Trincomalee command has claimed in a note issued to media on Tuesday. Two firearms were seized in the raid, the Tigers said.
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Tigers claim raid on joint paramilitary, military mini-camp in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 September 2008, 11:32 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) officials in the East claimed Sunday that six Sri Lankan military and paramilitary personnel were killed in a raid carried out by a commando unit of the Tigers on a joint military and paramilitary camp at Thikiliveddai, north of Batticaloa at 2:15 a.m. Sunday. The mini-camp was brought under LTTE control within 15 minutes after they launched the raid, the Tigers said claiming that they seized a Light Machine Gun, five assault rifles and ammunitions. Meanwhile, medical sources at Chengkaladi hospital said one of the wounded TMVP personnel rushed to hospital succumbed to his injuries and that eight wounded were received at the hospital after the raid.
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SLA soldier killed in clash in Yala

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 September 2008, 10:08 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soures in Colombo on Saturday said an soldier was killed in a clash with the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Saturday evening at Sector 3 of Yala bordering the Hambantota district.
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US Ambassador says 'honoured' to meet paramilitary leader

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 September 2008, 05:23 GMT]
US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Robert O' Blake says he was honoured to meet the leader of the Army-backed paramilitary group TMVP (Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal) which Human Rights Watch has condemend for widespread human rights abuses in the eastern province - of which Pillayan was appointed chief minister. Mr. Blake said he is "pleased that [Pillayan] assured me he too is committed to demobilizing the paramilitaries" the Sunday Times reported. The same column in the paper reported that TMVP cadres are once again being used to support the Sri Lankan security forces' counter-insurgency in the east.
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British PM meets Rajapaksa, conveys acute concern

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 September 2008, 15:01 GMT]
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Secretary of State for Department for International Development Douglas Alexander met with President Mahinda Rajapakse of Sri Lanka in New York Friday to discuss the situation in Sri Lanka. "The recent increased hostilities in the north of Sri Lanka are of acute concern to the UK Government," said a joint statement from the British International Development Minister Shahid Malik and Lord Malloch Brown, calling on both the parties, the GoSL and the LTTE, to respect their obligations under International Humanitarian Law to enable free access for humanitarian agencies. The statement also urged LTTE to take urgent action to allow free movement of civilians.
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Civilian killed, 8 including 4 children wounded in SLAF attack

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 September 2008, 10:08 GMT]
A civilian was killed and eight, including four children, were wounded in Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) attack in Iraththinapuram, a suburb of Ki'linochchi town, Saturday around 12:15 p.m., Tamileelam Police said. The ICRC office, which was recently relocated from Ira'naimadu junction, is situated around 150 meters away from the bombed locality. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan defence ministry claimed that the attack was a 'precision air strike' against an LTTE target. Medical sources at Ki'linochchi hospital said an 8-month-old baby, a 9-month-old baby, and two 2-year-old children were among the wounded.
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Tiger artillery fire kills SLA soldier in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 September 2008, 16:35 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) launched artillery shells Friday around 10:00 a.m.,across Jaffna lagoon, targeted Sri Lanka Army (SLA) coastal posts in Kurunakar, Paasaiyoor and Ariyaalai East, killing an SLA soldier and seriously injuring two, sources in Jaffna said. Heavy artillery exchange followed between the SLA and LTTE which lasted nearly for an hour. Meanwhile, a Kurunakar fisherman was injured when one of the shells fell and exploded in Jaffna lagoon.
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LTTE leader pays homage to Thileepan, Sankar

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 September 2008, 12:22 GMT]
Velupillai Pirapaharan, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) on Friday paid homage to Lt. Col. Thileepan, a political leader of the LTTE, who fasted unto death in 1987 and Col. Sankar, a senior commander and the founder of the Tamileelam Air Force (TAF) also known as Air Tigers. Col. Sankar was assassinated by the Sri Lanka Army on September 26 in 2001 when the LTTE was engaged in peace process with the Norwegian facilitators.
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SLA, LTTE clash in Mukamaalai FDL

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 September 2008, 17:34 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) clashed for Thursday around 2:00 a.m for nearly half an hour, according to sources close to SLA. Kodikaamam police said it recovered Thursday a body of a male, who was caught in a landmine explosion in the no man zone between SLA and LTTE FDL positions.
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Rally at UN against Sri Lanka's genocide draws over thousand protesters

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 September 2008, 16:56 GMT]
Over one thousand American Tamils, Canadian Tamils and friends of Tamils protested Wednesday in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New York to draw attention of the United Nations, demanding sanctions against Sri Lanka, and advocating to invoke the principle of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) as a means to halt what the protesters alleged "genocide of Tamils." The protesters also denounced the visit to the UN by the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. About 20 Sri Lankan Government supporters, including Buddhist monks, showed up briefly for a counter protest.
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SLA cautions continuous curfew in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 September 2008, 06:59 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna cautioned Wednesday UN humanitarian organization and its other institutions functioning in Jaffna peninsula to maintain food stocks enough for three days in case a continuing curfew being imposed in the peninsula during eventual military measures on Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the Front Defence Line areas or on targets within the peninsula in the coming days, sources in Jaffna said. Residents in Jaffna say this could be a measure of the SLA to transport troops and weapons, unseen by the public, to the northern FDL areas.
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