STF, LTTE exchange mortar fire in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 September 2007, 18:20 GMT]
Sri Lanka Special Task Force (STF) launched mortar shells Tuesday around 2:30 p.m from their base in Kagnchikuddichchaa'ru in Ampaa'rai district, on Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held areas in Ampaa'rai. LTTE retaliated with mortar shells, Ampaa'rai district LTTE Political Head Kaviyarasan said.
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2 killed, one injured in SLA shooting in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 September 2007, 12:32 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers opened indiscriminate firing following a Claymore attack Tuesday around 9:00 a.m on its road patrol unit at Chiththangkea'ni in Jaffna, killing a civilian woman, a youth and seriously injuring another youth, sources in Jaffna said. Two SLA troops were injured in the Claymore attack.
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SLAF bombs Pooneryn

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 September 2007, 08:23 GMT]
Two Kfir bombers of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) on Tuesday carried out two bombing strikes on Pooneryn (Poonakari) division situated along the northwestern coast of Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) controlled Vanni mainland. Civilian settlements were the targets, initial reports said. First attack took place betweeen 12:15 and 12:40 p.m., and the second attack lasted till 1:20 p.m., according to initial reports.
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Artillery fire kills Tamil civilian in I'raalku'li

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 September 2007, 04:06 GMT]
A Tamil civilian was killed when an artillery shell exploded at I'raalku'li, a resettled Tamil village in Moothoor division in Trincomalee, last Monday night around 8 p.m., Moothoor police said.
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UNP protest rally in Hatton draws thousands

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 September 2007, 02:30 GMT]
Thousands took part in a protest rally organized by United National Party (UNP) in Hatton on Monday condemning the actions of the current administration. The protestors shouted slogans condemning that the protracted conflict has increased prices of essential items and food, creating economic hardships for the civilian population.
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7 seek protection with HRC, 2 youths missing in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 September 2007, 00:17 GMT]
Six civilians from Thenmaraadchi and one from Vadamaraadchi, all between the ages of 24 to 56, sought protection with Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna office on Monday due to death threats by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and SLA-backed paramilitaries, sources in Jaffna said.
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Tamil sovereignty, basis of peace talks - LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 September 2007, 17:37 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE), in a statement issued Monday, urged the UN General Assembly which has gathered for its 62nd session in New York, USA, to recognize the concept of the sovereignty of the Tamil people and support the peace process in accordance with this principle. The LTTE statement characterized the confidence of some members of the International Community on Sri Lanka's latest All Party Representative Committee (APRC) which has not brought any constructive outcome to date, as a misplaced confidence.
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Artillery duel in Mannaar, hospitals on red alert

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 September 2007, 07:10 GMT]
Heavy artillery streaked from Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled Mannaar into Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) controlled Maanthai West Monday morning, following a SLA ground operation in Mannaar Vavuniyaa border Sunday evening. The artillery barrage by SLA began to shake the city at 5:30 a.m. The SLA has notified the two hospitals, Mannaar general hospital and Murungkan district hospital, to be put on high alert. Telephone links to LTTE controlled Maanthai West have been cut off.
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2 civilians shot dead inside Point-Pedro HSZ

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 September 2007, 18:08 GMT]
An eatery owner and a Saiva priest were shot dead by unknown gunmen inside the High Security Zone (HSZ) in Point Pedro early morning Sunday, sources in Point Pedro said. The killlings took place within 10 minutes of each other in an area with heavy Sri Lanka Army (SLA) presence have shocked the local residents, civil society sources said.
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SLA shelling injures civilian in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 September 2007, 16:56 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops fired artillery shells Saturday from 7:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. on civilian settlements including Ka'n'naaddi and Adampan areas in Mannaar district, seriously injuring a family man on his back and legs.
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Students protest SLAF bombings near Vanni schools

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 September 2007, 12:16 GMT]
Students, parents, teachers, and principals in Puthukkuddiyiruppu in Mullaiththeevu district, protested Friday against the continuing Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombing on areas close to schools in Vanni. They marched to the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) office in Puthukkuddiyiruppu and handed an appeal, requesting ICRC to intervene to stop the indiscriminate bombings by the SLAF, sources in Vanni said.
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“Avoid unitary, avoid states” - United States ambassador

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 September 2007, 16:10 GMT]
Addressing a seminar on "Sri Lanka: the Way Forward," in Colombo on Friday, organized by Fullbright Association, the U.S. Ambassador for Sri Lanka, Robert Blake, categorically stated that Sri Lanka's conflict cannot be won by military means. He said whatever the Sri Lankan government achieved in terms of military victories in the last several months, were merely "tactical" successes. The Ambassador who didn't want to mince words, cautioned the Colombo government against possible failures, hoped on All Party Representative Committee (APRC) and harped on development especially in the East, but dodged words when it came to the political model for resolving Sri Lanka's ethnic crisis.
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World must rein in Sri Lankan state – TNA

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 September 2007, 11:13 GMT]
Protesting that the Sri Lankan government had discarded negotiating a settlement to the island’s ethnic conflict, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA)urged the international community to take a principled stand on the Tamil people’s right to self determination. Outlining the humanitarian and human rights crisis that has emerged in the wake of Colombo’s military project, the TNA also argued: “the Sri Lankan State will not conform to international norms or standards. It is only by the International Community … taking meaningful steps, can the Sri Lankan State be made to realize that it cannot continue with the present disastrous trend.”
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SLAF bombs Visuvamadu for 2nd day, civilian killed, 12 wounded

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 September 2007, 04:58 GMT]
An 85-year-old man was killed and 12 civilians, including his son and daughter who is a teacher, a six-months-old baby, a 9-year-old girl and two couples, were wounded when Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers attacked Punnai Neeraavi village in Visuvamadu Saturday between 7:00 and 7:25 a.m. Civilians at the Visuvamadu market, situated 350 meters from the attack site, fled away in panic. The bombed area is located bordering the Ki'linochchi and Mullaiththeevu districts.
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2 Family men seek protection with HRC Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 September 2007, 02:03 GMT]
Two family men, one from Chaavakachcheari in Thenmaraadchi and the other from Urumpiraai in Valigaamam, sought protection Friday with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna due to death threats from Sri Lanka Army (SLA) backed Tamil paramilitaries, sources in Jaffna said.
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Hartal marks remembrance of Ma'nmunai massacres

[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 September 2007, 01:07 GMT]
People of Aaraiyampathi, Ma'nmunai, in Batticaloa district observed total shut down Friday in remembrance of the 42 civilians massacred August 1990 in Puthukkudiyiruppu village in Ma'nmunai area, sources in Batticaloa said. The shut down was fully observed though Special Task Force (STF) troops demanded the traders to open their shops, the sources added.
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SLMM collects information on Rights violations in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 September 2007, 00:30 GMT]
Officials of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) visited Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna office Wednesday to obtain details of human rights violation in the Jaffna peninsula, HRC sources said. The SLMM officials also visited offices of International and Local NGOs, and media and Volunteer Organizations learning first hand of the rights violations escalating at a rapid rate in the peninsula.
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6 civilians seek protection with Jaffna HRC

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 September 2007, 17:36 GMT]
One family man from Pungkudutheevu islet of Jaffna and five civilians from Thenmaraadchi sought protection with Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna, fearing for their lives due to death threats from Sri Lanka Army (SLA) backed Tamil paramilitary armed men, Thursday, sources in Jaffna said.
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SLAF bombs TRO Mullaiththeevu office, civilian settlement, 6 wounded

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 September 2007, 08:53 GMT]
Six civilians were injured and five were rushed to Puthukkudiyiruppu hospital after Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers dropped bombs near Puthukkudiyiruppu town, targeting Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) Mullaiththeevu district office and the civilian settlements in the area around 11:30 a.m. Thursday. The TRO buildings were damaged, and a civilian house was fully destroyed in the attack when the bombs exploded on the air and the ground, 1 km near the town on A-35 highway. The SLAF attack air-crafts flew two bombing raids. Tension prevailed in the town as civilians at the market and other locations were caught in panic.
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2 civilians seek HRC protection, One missing in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 September 2007, 02:24 GMT]
A youth and a family man from Thenmaraadchi sought protection with Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna, Wednesday. Meanwhile, a father of three children from Kurunakar in Jaffna town is reported missing since Tuesday, according to complaints made by his wife to HRC Jaffna Wednesday.
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