8 civilians killed in SLA DPU attacks in Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 February 2008, 18:01 GMT]
Eight innocent civilians riding in tractors were killed in two different Claymore attacks carried out by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Deep Penetration Unit teams that had infiltrated into Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) controlled areas on either sides of the A9 road, north of Vavuniyaa on Wednesday. The first attack, in which four civilians were killed, was reported at Panangkaamam in Moon'ru Mu'rippu GS area of Maanthai East division in Mullaiththeevu district at 1:50 p.m. The second attack was reported at 8:30 p.m. in which another four civilians were slain while they were riding in a tractor from Maruthoadai to Olumadu.
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Ex-LTTE cadres forced to join TMVP

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 February 2008, 11:24 GMT]
Pillaiyan group Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) members are alleged to be forcing former members of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Batticaloa district who had opted to leave the LTTE and lead a normal life after Sri Lanka Army (SLA) took LTTE area in Paduvaankarai last year, to join the TMVP, sources in Batticaloa said.
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18 wounded in bus explosion in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 February 2008, 07:07 GMT]
Eighteen civilians were injured in a bomb blast inside a bus in Colombo Mount Laviniya Saturday around 10:45 a.m. Most of the victims were bystanders. The passengers had a providential escape as a woman traveler alerted the conductor and the driver of the bus about an unattended parcel underneath a seat in the Colombo bound bus coming from Morattuwa. The explosion took place after the passengers have got off the bus and while the driver was taking it to a safe location, police said. The blast in Colombo has taken place a day after the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) aerial bombardment on civilians in Vanni took the lives of 8 and injured 14, which included many children.
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NE Bishops scheduled to meet UN special envoy

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 February 2008, 00:33 GMT]
A delegation of bishops from Northeast are scheduled to meet Angela Kane, UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs who arrived in Colombo Wednesday morning for a week-long fact finding mission in the island, sources close to the Bishops said.
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Kosovo’s victory has lessons for other liberation struggles - paper

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 February 2008, 16:16 GMT]
Describing Kosovo’s declaration of independence on Sunday and the ensuing international recognition as “a powerful shot in the arm to peoples resisting and seeking independence from tyrannical regimes,” the Tamil Guardian newspaper this said that “whilst every situation and every circumstance is unique, there are important lessons from the Kosovan march to independence for liberation struggles everywhere. The paper pointed out that just a few years ago, the idea of Kosovan independence had been dismissed by the international community and the Kosovan Liberation Army had been condemned as terrorists by the United States and other countries.
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GoSL imposes restrictions on food supplies to Vanni

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 February 2008, 08:29 GMT]
New restrictions imposed by the Government of Sri Lanka on transport of goods from Vavuniyaa to Ki’linochchi via Oamanthai Sri Lanka Army (SLA) check post will severely hamper distribution of food and other essential commodities to Vanni, Vavuniyaa Secretariat sources said. SLA is directed to allow only 30% of the food supplies required to support Vanni needs, Ki’linochchi district Government Agent, Mr. Vethanayagam said. Meanwhile, a controlled price for bread is to be fixed in Jaffna peninsula with effect from Sunday, Jaffna Government Agent (GA), K. Ganesh said.
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Vavuniyaa residents appeal for resumption of train service

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 February 2008, 01:35 GMT]
A memorandum signed by more than one thousand civilians appealing to the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse to remove the obstacles faced by people in the north at the various check points including the one at Madawaachchi, and to recommence the services up to Vavuniyaa, was forwarded to Colombo Tuesday.
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Tamil civilian reported missing in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 February 2008, 12:08 GMT]
A 32-year old Tamil civilian has been reported missing since Saturday night around 8 p.m. after he was seen walking along Thaalvupaadu Veethi in Mannaar, according to complaints lodged with the Mannaar Police, Mannaar District Citizen Committee, and International Committee of Red Cross.
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Outgoing artillery fire rocks Mannaar city

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 February 2008, 04:04 GMT]
Normalcy was disturbed in Mannaar city Tuesday from 8:10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. as Sri Lanka Army mounted an artillery barrage simultaneously from all its camps in Mannaar towards Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam territories, after an artillery box barrage carried out by the Tigers targeting the Tha'l'laadi garrison. LTTE shells hit a mini-camp causing casualties among SLA soldiers. Clouds of smoke were observed in the area where at least 3 of the SLA positions attached to the mini camp took fire. According to SLA reports, the LTTE shelling caused damage to St. Antony's church and killed 6 soldiers staying in the premises. The church shares a common fence with the mini-camp.
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SLA suffers casualties in Mannaar clashes - LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 February 2008, 09:23 GMT]
At least 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers were killed and 28 wounded in the last 3-days clashes in Mannaar district and the border areas of Vavuniyaa, according to LTTE's Operations Commands in the region. On Tuesday, 6 SLA soldiers were killed when the SLA launched a ground push, attempting to advance towards Adampan, Tigers said. At least 26 SLA soldiers were wounded in direct clashes that lasted for almost for 4 hours. Seven SLA soldiers were gunned down by Tiger snipers on Wednesday and Thursday in Paalaikkuzhi area. In the meantime, two covert operations by SLA infiltration teams were thwarted while they were engaged in placing Claymore bombs in Valaiyankaddu and Pa'ndivirichchaan areas.
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GOSL pays compensation to Ma'nalaa'ru injured

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 February 2008, 13:18 GMT]
Rishad Bathiyutheen, Minister of Resettlement & Disaster Relief Services, on the directions of Mahinda Rajapakse, President of Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL), forwarded compensation funds Tuesday to senior officials for distribution to the victims of Monday bomb blast in Ma'nalaa'ru .
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TNA MP’s residence attacked, 2 youths shot dead

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 February 2008, 13:35 GMT]
Unidentified men hurled a hand grenade Monday night 7:30p.m, near the residence of Kishore Sivananthan, Vanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, but no one was injured, Vavuniyaa police said. Meanwhile, two youths have been shot dead in Vavuniyaa in two separate incidents.
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14 killed, 103 wounded in Colombo train blast

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 February 2008, 08:45 GMT]
Fourteen civilians, including 6 students of D.S. Senayakaye vidyalaya and a baseball teacher were killed and around 100 people wounded in a bomb explosion at the platform of Colombo Fort Railway station while Matara-Vavuniyaa train reached the 3rd platform the station, situated in the High Security Zone in Sri Lanka's capital Sunday at 2:10 p.m. All train services have been suspended, the Fort station was cordoned off and a search operation by the Sri Lankan armed forces was launched. The blast comes a day before Sri Lanka's 60th Independence Day celebrations amid speculations of Colombo embarking on a full fledged war on Vanni, stepping up aerial bombardment and artillery barrage.
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3 SLA soldiers killed in Ma'nalaa'ru clashes - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 January 2008, 19:44 GMT]
Liberation Tigers Operations Command in Ma'nalaa'ru told media in Vanni that a three-pronged ground offensive by the Sri Lanka Army was thwarted after nearly five-hour fighting on Wednesday. There were no LTTE casualties in the confrontations. 3 SLA soldiers were killed, claimed the LTTE.
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Iththikka'ndal

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 January 2008, 00:01 GMT]
The marshland in the locality of Iththi trees (Ficus virens)
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Media Organizations condemn attack on Rupavahini Editor

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 January 2008, 18:35 GMT]
Pointing to Minister Mervyn de Silva for complicity in Friday attack on Rupavahini journalist, Mr Mawalage, five Colombo media organizations in a press release issued Saturday said, "Journalist Mawalage received continuous death threats after his role in the SLRC [Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation] staff protest... We strongly suspect that this knife attack could be retaliation for his role in SLRC staff protest," and added, "We hope that this will not be another attack on media in Sri Lanka which will be swept under the carpet as like what has happened to more than a hundred press freedom violations in recent times."
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SLAF bombing raid injures 3 civilians in Vanni

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 January 2008, 17:07 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLA) fighter jets dropped 12 bombs in 3 sorties Friday morning on civilian settlements in Va'l'lipunam in Vanni, injuring three civilians including a woman, besides completely destroying a settlement, sources in Vanni said. An event enrolling new students to Grade I in Udaiyaarkaddu Mahavithtiyaalayam was disrupted when the bombs fell and exploded near by. Chentha'lir Children Home for girls, relocated from Mullaitheevu coast to Va'l'lipunam after Tsunami, narrowly escaped the air-strike.
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iTRO urges countries to allow diaspora help

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 January 2008, 00:02 GMT]
International Tamil Rehabilitation Organization, iTRO, based in U.K., in a press release issued this week following the unilateral abrogation of Cease Fire Agreement by the Government of Sri Lanka, appealed to the Governments of the West "to allow space for the Tamil Diaspora to provide much needed humanitarian assistance to their people. International organizations have been restricted in their ability to access the affected areas and deliver the necessary relief and the GoSL has restricted food, medicine, fuel and construction materials to the Vanni. As a result in many areas TRO is the only organization with access to the war and tsunami affected populations," the release said.
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SLAF bombers attack civilian settlements in Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 January 2008, 16:48 GMT]
Four Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir jet fighters bombed Thursday 2:25 p.m. civilian settlements in Udaiyaarkaddu in Vanni for nearly 45 minutes, dropping more than 16 bombs in eight sorties and injuring an old man besides damaging four houses and crops in the area, sources in Vanni said.
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27 killed, 63 wounded, bus explosion in South

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 January 2008, 03:33 GMT]
27 civilians, including 3 school children, were killed and 63 wounded in a Claymore blast that targeted a bus in Helagama in Buttala DS division in Monaragala district in Uva Province at 7:35 a.m. Wednesday, Police said. The blast comes amid reports the Sri Lankan military leadership was trying to convince the government to shut down schools in the South for extended periods, ahead of major offensives, including bombardments likely to cause heavy civilian casualties, into the Vanni. The 6-years-old ceasefire expires today.
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