STF commando killed, 3 wounded in Ampaa'rai - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 September 2008, 14:55 GMT]
A Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) commando was killed Wednesday around 11:30 a.m. in kagnchikudichcha'ru in Ampaa'rai district, while the STF commandos were engaged in a search operation, according to LTTE officials in the East. The STF personnel were caught up in a Tiger booby trap when they were on a search mission in the jungle area.
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2 SLA killed in ambush in Trincomalee - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 September 2008, 06:38 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) officials in the East claimed Wednesday that a Tiger guerrilla unit ambushed Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers at Battaragaram in Thimilakadawa, a remote Sinhala area in Trincomalee district Tuesday morning around 7:00 a.m., killing 2 SLA soldiers.
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Canada says Bahu an LTTE member, refuses visa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 September 2008, 05:51 GMT]
Canadian High Commission in Colombo last week denied visa to the Leader of New Left Front and General Secretary of New Sama Samaja party, Dr Wickramabahu Karunaratne, saying that his past actions "constitute membership in the LTTE," and therefore, Dr Karunaratne fails the admissibility tests laid out in Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).
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Eezham Thamizh and Tamil Eelam: Understanding the terminologies of identity

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 September 2008, 00:43 GMT]
Many readers, Tamils as well as non-Tamils, wonder at the way words and phrases such as Eezham, Thamizh, Eezham Tamil or Eezham Thamizh, Tamil Eelam or Thamizh Eezham, Sinhala, Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan etc., are presented today in the media and the connotations implied by them. Culture Columnist Akazhaan discusses the etymology, historical linguistics and sociolinguistics of these terms in the context of the Tamil and Sinhala national questions in the island known as Sri Lanka today.
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Heavy fighting breaks out in southwest frontiers of Ki'linochchi district

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 September 2008, 01:06 GMT]
Heavy fighting has broke out between the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and the fighting formations of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) in the southwest frontiers of Ki'linochchi district, at Vanneari, Akkaraayan and the interior of Mu'rika'ndi at 5:50 a.m. on Sunday.
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STF commando killed, 3 wounded in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 September 2008, 17:23 GMT]
A Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) commando was killed and three wounded Friday around 5:50 p.m. in Kagnchikudichaa'ru region where Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) laid booby trap exploded when hundreds of commandos engaged in a search operation entered a mine field, sources in Ampaa'rai said.
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Crisis unfolding in Ki'linochchi - Human Rights Secretariat

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 September 2008, 16:56 GMT]
The better off among the newly displacing Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Ki'linochchi have gone to the extreme of dismantling their homes so that they can setup a home in due course in new place. The sight of Ki'linochchi streets with roofless, doorless homes tells the sad tale of the IDPs who once lived in them, said North East Secretariat on Human Rights (NESoHR) on Saturday. Meanwhile, the United Nations office of the Resident / Humanitarian Coordinator in Colombo, in a press statement issued on Saturday, said it was seriously concerned by theft from its Ki'linochchi offices on Thursday and Friday nights and said it has brought this to the attention of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE).
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Sri Lankan forces arrest 12 Tamils in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 September 2008, 18:34 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA), Special Task Force (STF) and the Sri Lankan police arrested Thursday 12 civilians in a joint cordon and search operation from 5:30 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. in Kalladi, Uppoadai, Nochchimunai and Naavatkudaa areas in Batticaloa police division. Paramilitary Razeek group personnel were deployed by the SLA during the search operation, residents said.
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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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Principal reported missing, one seek refuge with Jaffna HRC

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 September 2008, 09:38 GMT]
The principal of Va'l'luvarpuram Paarathi Viththiyaalayam in Visuvamadu in Liberation Tigers of Eelam (LTTE) held area of Vanni, has been reported missing since 08 August, according to complaint lodged with the Human Rights Commission in Jaffna by his wife.
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British FM meets Tamil expats in London

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 September 2008, 13:17 GMT]
During a community meeting attended by over one thousand British Tamils, UK Foreign Minister Lord Mark Malloch Brown, said: "UK Government believes that minorities in any country must have their right to practice the fullest and free to expression of self determination. "We are extremely concerned about how this government behaves and treats the Tamil community, and we are using all the means available to us to press the government to do otherwise."
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22 SLA killed in Akkaraayan fighting, arms seized, say Tigers

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 September 2008, 19:51 GMT]
More than 22 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and at least 53 wounded Monday when the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) put up stiff resistance against the SLA offensive units that advanced in Akkaraayan area, southwest of Ki'linochchi district, the Tigers said. Releasing photographs taken from the battlefield where they recovered four SLA dead bodies and seized rocket launchers and machine guns, the LTTE officials told media in Vanni that the SLA was pushed back. Clearing mission was still going on, the Tigers said. Meanwhile, SLA officials in Colombo put their casualties as low as 3 killed in action and 9 wounded.
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Pirapaharan pays homage to Thileepan on 21st anniversary

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 September 2008, 18:47 GMT]
Velupillai Pirapaharan, the leader of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) paid homage to Lt. Col. Thileepan on Monday at an undisclosed location in Vanni, when the Tigers commenced to mark the 21st death anniversary of Thileepan's fast to death campaign, according to LTTE officials in Vanni.
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Shoot at sight order on persons entering Moneragala jungles

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 September 2008, 17:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has launched a search operation in the jungles that come under the Divisional Secretariat divisions of Moneragala, Siyambalanduwa and Buttala in the Moneragala district in the Uva province for strangers alleged to be hiding following the killing of seven Sinhala villagers last week. SLA has warned that those who enter the jungles while the search operation is in progress will be shot at sight, Moneragala sources said.
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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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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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STF killed in Tiger shelling in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 September 2008, 10:59 GMT]
A Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) trooper was killed and five sustained injuries Sunday around 7:00 a.m. when Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) fired shells targeted Udumpangku'lam STF camp in Kanghikudichchaa'ru, according to informed sources in the East.
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Heavy fighting in Akkaraayan, arms seized, 4 SLA bodies recovered - LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 September 2008, 10:41 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) officials in Vanni told media that their forces were engaged in a stiff fighting with the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) that launched a fresh attempt to advance in the south of Akkaraayan Monday while the SLA shelling reached the A9 highway. The Tigers said their fighters have located dead bodies of four SLA soldiers and seized weapons including six RPG launchers, nine LMGs and more than 20 assault rifles from the battlefield, causing heavy casualties to the SLA.
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2 SLA killed in Maha Oya, arms seized - LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 September 2008, 10:24 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed when Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) ambushed a motorbike patrol of the SLA in Maha Oya area, situated between Batticaloa district and Badulla district Monday morning around 7:30 a.m., the Tigers said adding that they seized a AK-47 and a T-56-type-2 assault rifles from the SLA with ammunitions.
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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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