Canada condemns escalation of violence in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 November 2007, 17:25 GMT]
Maxime Bernier, Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Canadian Government, in a press release issued Thursday said: “Canada strongly condemns the escalation of violence in Sri Lanka and, in particular, the killing of civilians, whether targeted or accidental. Our sincere sympathies are with the families and friends of the victims, irrespective of their ethnicity. Canada continues to call on all parties to renounce violence, return to political negotiations and work toward a peaceful resolution to the conflict."
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U.S. condemns attacks in Colombo, Ki'linochchi on civilians

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 November 2007, 15:03 GMT]
The Embassy of the United States of America in Colombo, in a press release issued on Thursday, said the Government of United States strongly condemned the deadly attacks on civilians that occurred in a shopping mall, a government office on Wednesday in Colombo and on a bus carrying schoolchildren on Tuesday near Ki'linochchi. "Only a political solution, not a military one, offers a way out of the current cycle of escalating violence," reiterated the U.S. statement.
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Canada condemns attacks on civilians, escalation of violence

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 November 2007, 15:01 GMT]
Maxime Bernier, the Canadian minister of foreign affairs on Wednesday condemned the "escalation of violence in Sri Lanka and, in particular, the killing of civilians, whether targeted or accidental." Our sincere sympathies are with the families and friends of the victims, irrespective of their ethnicity. Canada called on all parties to renounce violence and return to political negotiations.
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32 Tamil civilians arrested in Uddappu, Moneragala

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 November 2007, 14:06 GMT]
Twenty Tamil residents of Uddapu village in Puththa'lam district in the north western province and 12 Tamil civilians in Moneragala town in the north central province were taken into custody in two separate combined cordon and search operations conducted by the Sri Lanka Army and Police since Monday evening. Uddapu is a traditional Tamil village. Moneragala is a Sinhala village.
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"Avoid civilian casualties," EU tells warring parties

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 November 2007, 11:43 GMT]
The European Union on Thursday said it remained "gravely concerned about the welfare of civilians caught up in the Sri Lanka's conflict - in the Wanni, in Colombo or wherever," and said it expected the parties to take the utmost care to avoid civilian casualties in accordance with international humanitarian law. The statement condemned Wednesday's "terrorist attacks in Colombo" and deplored "deliberate targeting of civilians."
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Gunmen shoot dead two Sinhala traders in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 November 2007, 11:31 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen Thursday noon shot and killed two Sinhalese civilians at Iyangkea'ni in Ea'raavoor, Police said. Ea'raavoor is located 12 km northwest Batticaloa.
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FMM deplores SLAF bombing of VoT

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 November 2007, 05:08 GMT]
The Free Media Movement (FMM), in a press release issued Wednesday, deplored the attack by the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) on the Voice of Tigers radio station and said: "mindlessly bombing civilian run media infrastructure and killing media personnel in the process simply because one does not agree with what is broadcast is to callously disregard established international humanitarian law." The FMM also strongly condemned the censoring of BBC Sinhala programme “Sandeshaya” by Sri Lanka state radio.
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SLAF bombs Jeyanthinagar civilian settlements

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 November 2007, 01:15 GMT]
Three Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir fast attack aircrafts carried out indiscriminate aerial bombardment Wednesday afternoon from 12.25p.m for twenty minutes targeting civilian settlements near Jeyanthinagar, a suburb of Ki’linochchi, sources said.
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Airstrike on VoT, a war crime - RSF

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 November 2007, 18:39 GMT]
A Sri Lanka military air strike Tuesday on the Voice of Tigers, the radio station of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE), was a "war crime," Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said. Three of the station's staff, who had not been given any warning, and six other civilians were killed in the bombardment by air force jets, the RSF said.
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SLAF bombs VoT radio station in Vanni, 11 killed, 15 wounded

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 November 2007, 11:56 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. attacked the Voice of Tigers (VoT) broadcast station located at 155 Mile Post, 3.5 km south of Ki'linochchi. Three editorial staff workers at the station and eight civilians, residents and travelers near the station were killed in the attack. 15 civilians, including four editorial staff, wounded in the attack were admitted to Ki'linochchi hospital. A hostel belonging to World Food Programme (WFP) was fully destroyed. The Vanni office of FORUT and a library of Ki'linochchi Pradeshiya Sabah were damaged in the airstrike. A bomb hit the A9 Road. 17 civilian houses in the vicinity were attacked, 8 houses have sustained heavy damage.
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SLAF bombs civilian settlements in Vanni

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 November 2007, 13:54 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers have attacked two densely populated areas in Puthukkudiyiruppu and Ki'linochchi in Vanni on Monday. 13 houses have sustained damages in five rounds of air attacks. The first attack was reported in Puthukkudiyiruppu, 150 meters from the town junction, between 5:00 and 5:20 p.m. 7 houses have sustained heavy damage. No civilian casualties were reported. The second attack was reported between 5:30 and 5:50 p.m. in Jeyanthinakar, a suburb of Ki'linochchi town, where six houses were damaged. An 18-year-old youth was wounded in Jeyanthinakar.
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4 Sinhala civilian settlers shot dead near Vilpattu

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 November 2007, 09:26 GMT]
Four Sinhala paddy cultivators, including a female, were shot dead Monday morning around 8:45 in Maha Vilachiya DS division, northwest of Wilpattu wildlife sanctuary, Police said. Maha Vilachiya, situated northwest of Anuradhapura district is bordering the southern part of Mannaar, the Chilavattu'rai area which the SLA brought under its control two months ago. The division also borders the southern part of Vavuniyaa district.
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2 DPU attacks claim 2 civilian lives, ambulance targeted again in Vanni

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 November 2007, 09:37 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) attackers, in two separate Claymore attacks on Sunday targeted civilians in Oddisuddaan, 22 km southwest of Mullaiththeevu town and Mudkompan, 20 km northwest of Ki'linochchi town in Poonakari (Pooneryn) division Sunday, Tamileelam Police officials said. The Claymore attack in Oddisuddaan claimed the lives two, a student and a business man, around 7:55 a.m. and another attack at Mudkompan targeted an ambulance around 9:50 a.m. The two DPU Claymore attacks during Heroes Day remembrance days in Vanni come two months after a similar attack that claimed the life of Rev. Fr. Nicholaspillai Packiyaranjith who was on a humanitarian mission.
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4 civilians killed, 6 wounded in SLAF bombardment

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 November 2007, 04:51 GMT]
A father and mother with their daughter and a teenage girl were killed, their son and his wife were seriously wounded with four other civilians, Sunday morning, when Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers attacked a civilian settlement twice, between 7:15 and 7:40 a.m., at Tharmapuram 8th Unit, located in Ki'linochchi district. A 4-years-old girl, a teacher and a retired postmaster were among the wounded. The airstrike, using bombs that explode underground, comes as November 27 Heroes Day remembrance events were being observed in Vanni. The explosions have created 6 to 10 meter depth craters.
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Civilian shot, seriously injured in Vaazhaichcheanai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 November 2007, 17:30 GMT]
A group of unidentified armed men forced into the residence of a Muslim man in Akbar Road in Pi'ranthu'raichchaeanai, Vaazhaichcheanai, in Batticaloa district Saturday morning 4:00 a.m., shot the victim after awakening him and fled the scene, sources said.
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SLAF bombing victim in Mu'rika'ndi succumbs to injuries

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 November 2007, 12:24 GMT]
The 32-year old woman, seriously injured during bombing by Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir fighter jets targeting a civilian settlement in Mu'rika'ndi located close to Ki'linochchi on 16 November morning, succumbed to her injuries Thursday evening, sources in Kilinochchi said. Doctors could not save her seriously injured legs, and the legs were amputated earlier.
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Two Tamil civilians reported missing in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 November 2007, 11:43 GMT]
Two Tamil civilians from Ka'n'niyaa in Trincomalee have been reported missing since Monday after they left their home to cut firewood in Wilgam Vihare jungle located along Trincomalee-Anuradhapura road, about 10 km off north of east port city.
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Sea Tigers open fire on coastal sentry in Peasaalai

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 November 2007, 06:32 GMT]
Six gunboats of Sea Tigers, the naval wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE), Friday morning at 7:50 approached Peasaalai in Mannaar and opened fired from their vessels from a close distance of 75 meters, on coastal naval and police sentry posts, Police said. The LTTE claimed to have caused damage to two SLN water jet boats and said there was no Tiger casualties. However, military officials in Colombo, who use to put the Tiger casualty figures high after the Anuradhapura operation and the recent setback in Mukamaalai, claimed that 17 Tigers were killed in the clash.
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Vara'ni resident seeks protection with Jaffna HRC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 November 2007, 19:19 GMT]
A civilian from Va’ra’ni area in Thenmaraadchchi sought protection with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna office due to death threats and attempts of abduction by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and SLA-backed paramilitaries. The main commanding SLA base of the 52nd brigade is located in Vara'ni.
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SLA, SLN conduct war exercise in northern seas

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 November 2007, 12:17 GMT]
Thousand of troops of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) together with a number of Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) shallow water vessels conducted a three hour war rehearsal Monday morning beginning at 6:00a.m. in Araali, Valigaamam, sources in Jaffna said.
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