5 civilians missing in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 August 2008, 09:20 GMT]
Five cattle breeders in Thoppikkal area have gone missing following the Claymore ambush at Periyavaddavaan in Tharavai (Thoppikkal) area in Batticaloa district Tuesday evening where 23 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed, sources in Batticaloa said. Meanwhile, more than 500 persons who had gone to the above area on errands were made to kneel by the SLA for a whole day while assaulting some of them, the sources added.
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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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3 Tamil civilians arrested in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 August 2008, 16:35 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and the police launched an intensive checking operation Thursday from 8:00 a.m until 1:00 p.m in several places in Batticaloa including Batticaloa Kalladi, Naavatkudaa and Batticaloa town. Three persons were taken into custody in this checking.
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2 civilians killed in SLA shelling in Vadmaraadchi East

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 August 2008, 08:00 GMT]
A 45-year-old father of three and a 30-year-old father of one were killed Wednesday morning when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired artillery shells targeted civilian settlements, fishing huts and the stretch along the coast in Vettilaikkea'ni in Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) controlled Vadamaraadchi East of Jaffna district. One civilian was wounded in the shelling and rushed to hospital, according to initial reports from Vadamaraadchi East.
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Jaffna, Colombo register highest in civilians deaths, disappearances, says NESoHR

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 August 2008, 06:17 GMT]
A total of 38 civilians were killed, 42 disappeared in July, with Jaffna accounting for the highest number of killings (14), and Colombo registering the highest number of disappearances (12), said a report released Monday by the NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESoHR), a Kilinochchi-based rights group.
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106 forces killed, 662 wounded in July - Sri Lankan PM

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 August 2008, 04:12 GMT]
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake who opened the debate on extending the State of Emergency in the Sri Lankan Parliament on Wednesday said 106 Sri Lankan military and police personnel were killed and 662 wounded during the month of July.
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2 civilians reported missing in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 August 2008, 18:00 GMT]
Two civilians who had gone to harvest paddy in Aaththimoadai, Mannaar on 20 July are reported missing, according to a complaint lodged with Mannaar International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC).
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61 Tamils arrested in Negombo

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 August 2008, 11:15 GMT]
Sixty-one Tamil civilians taken into custody with several others in cordon and search operations conducted by the police and the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) from Saturday late evening till Sunday early morning in several parts of Negombo town are being detained in Negombo police station. The rest were released after preliminary inquiry.
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6 Tamils arrested in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 August 2008, 10:37 GMT]
Six Tamil civilians including a woman were arrested in a cordon and search operation conducted by the Vavuniyaa Police and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Chettikulam and Mudaliyaarkulam villages in Vavuniyaa on Monday from early morning until 10:00 a.m., sources said.
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Armed men abduct 5 civilians, release 4, in Ea’ravoor

[TamilNet, Friday, 01 August 2008, 10:01 GMT]
Armed men clad in military uniform, arriving in a white van, abducted five men Thursday around 8:15 p.m at Third Kurichchi area in Ea’raavoor police division in Batticaloa district, according to complaints lodged with the police by the relatives. Four of them were released after being interrogated in the Kalladi office of the paramilitary-cum-political party, Thamil Makkal Viduthali Pulikal (TMVP).
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11 civilians arrested in Gampaha

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 July 2008, 15:24 GMT]
Eleven civilians including two Tamils and a Muslim were taken into custody in a cordon and search operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in the Gampaha town on Wednesday. Police said they are being detained in the police station as they failed to prove their identity.
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Human skeleton found in Chemma'ni in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 July 2008, 10:30 GMT]
Demining employees of Danish Demining Organization engaged in demining Tuesday found a human skeleton suspected to be that of a woman in the area on the eastern flank of Jaffna-Kandy road which includes Chemma'ni and Ariyaalai areas within Jaffna Municipality limits. The hair and dress found on the skeleton point that it may be the skeleton of a woman, Jaffna police said. People gone missing in Jaffna peninsula in the 1996, 1997 periods were suspected of being killed and buried in the above places.
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11 Tamil civilians arrested in Mt.Lavinia

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 July 2008, 16:14 GMT]
Eleven Tamil civilians were taken into custody in a cordon and search operation conducted from 6:00 a.m. till 10:00 a.m. Wednesday in Mt.Lavinia area in Colombo division by the Police with the assistance of about one hundred members of the Civil Volunteer Force (CVF). Police used sniffer dogs and metal detectors to trace explosives in vehicles and in public places, sources said.
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Sri Lanka's new Ambassador to US presents credentials

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 July 2008, 02:17 GMT]
Sri Lanka's new Ambassador to U.S., Jaliya Wickramasuriya, presented his Credentials to U.S. President George W. Bush, at the Oval Office of the White House, on July 28, 2008, Sri Lanka embassy website reported. As the 15th Ambassador to the U.S., Wickramasuriya replaces the outgoing Ambassador Bernard Gunatillake.
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17 Tamil civilians arrested in Colombo

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 July 2008, 20:35 GMT]
Seventeen Tamil civilians including three women were taken in to custody Tuesday in a cordon and search operation conducted in Wellawatte area in Colombo by the police with the assistance of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA). All of the detainees were natives of north and east provinces and had been working in shops and staying with their relatives, friends and some in lodges in Wellawatte to go abroad, human rights sources said.
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Colombo snaps outside communication with Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 July 2008, 15:52 GMT]
Sri Lankan Telecommunication Department has cut off the telephone numbers with +9421228 format (Ki'linochchi lines) for the last few days, disabling the only available mode of communication to the outside world from Vanni at a time when more than 100,000 civilians have displaced in Ki'inochchi and Mullaiththeevu districts due to the Sri Lanka Army offensive. Fundamental services such as hospitals, civil services and media dependent on telephone communication have been severely affected, according to civil sources in Ki'linochchi.
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Civilian shot, injured in Vadamaraadchi

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 July 2008, 14:41 GMT]
Two unidentified gunmen on motorcycle shot and seriously injured a 19-year-old family man Tuesday around 9:00 a.m near the fish market located next to the main entrance of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) 52-4 Division Main Camp in Point Pedro in Vadamaraadchi.
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1200 Tamils prisoners held in Welikade without inquiry

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 July 2008, 20:51 GMT]
The Sri Lanka's Supreme Court was told when the Fundamental Rights violation petition filed the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) was taken up for further inquiry Monday that about one thousand two hundred Tamil civilians are still being detained in Welikada prison without any inquiry. The counsel for the petitioner begged the court to take steps to release these Tamils, legal sources said.
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SLA shelling targets Theavanpiddi, civilian killed

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 July 2008, 18:00 GMT]
A civilian was killed and two wounded Sunday when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched artillery and mortar barrage as displaced civilians were engaged in transporting their movable properties at Thevanpiddi, one of the topmost localities of Mannaar district. The SLA launched a day-long intense shelling barrage from 7:00 a.m. targeting Theavanpiddi where the statue of Our Lady of Madu was placed for the past 12 weeks. The shrine was taken on an ambulance by the Church authorities via Omanthai to Mannaar Bishop's House on Friday.
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Army deserters arrested for entering Yala sanctuary

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 July 2008, 02:10 GMT]
Six deserters of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) were arrested by the SLA soldiers and Wild Life department officials when they were entering the Yala sanctuary which has been declared out of bound for civilians due to security reasons, sources said.
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