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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“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 in Vanni

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 September 2007, 08:44 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) kfir bombers dropped eight bombs in two sorties Friday between 12:15 a.m and 12:40 p.m on Visuvamadu junction, behind the shops in the area, in Puthukkudiyiruppu DS division of Mullaitheevu distirict, sources in Vanni said. A 65-year-old man identified as Nagappan and a child aged 3 years 3 months sustained injuries in the bombing while 5 students in a school located 800 meters from the bombed area fainted in shock of the exploding bombs.
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SLA ground offensive in Northern FDL repulsed - LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 September 2007, 18:03 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) field officials Wednesday evening claimed that they have repulsed a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) ground offensive inside the no-man area in the Northern border at Naakar Koayil, after 12-hours intensive fight, causing heavy losses to the Sri Lanka Army. SLA troops had attempted to capture a Listening Post (LP) night position, forward the Tiger Forward Defence Line (FDL) and two LTTE fighters were killed in action, repulsing the SLA ground offensive, according to the LTTE.
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SLA soldier killed, 4 injured in artillery duel at Northern FDL positions

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 September 2007, 17:09 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier was killed and four injured Tuesday afternoon in a artillery and rocket fire duel between Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the Forward Defence Line (FDL) positions in Naakarkoayil and Mukamaalai, SLA media sources said. The duel continues Wednesday with both sides intensifying the attacks.


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Karuna group member shot dead in Vaazhaicheanai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 September 2007, 13:40 GMT]
Unidentified armed men shot dead Monday around 9:00 p.m a member of Karuna group at his house in Vinaayakapuram in Vaazhaicheanai in Batticaloa district, Kalkudaa police said.
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LTTE's patience intentional - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 September 2007, 08:18 GMT]
"Without caring for International policies and passive requests, the Government of Sri Lanka is continuing its genocidal war against the Tamil people. The concerns raised by the International Community have failed to make any dent on the ethnic cleansing by Colombo government which has proved itself a terrorist-state. Some International governments, without understanding realities, give aid to the deceitful purposes of the Sinhala government, which will only escalate the island's ethnic conflict to hitherto unseen heights," said LTTE's Political Head S.P. Thamilchelvan in an exclusive interview to TamilNet on Wednesday.
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3 STF troops injured in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 September 2007, 04:02 GMT]
Sri Lanka Special Task Force (STF), an elite commando unit, began an operation Monday around 8:00 a.m in an attempt to penetrate into Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held territory in Ampaa'rai district, assisted by heavy artillery and mortar fire. Three STF troops were injured in the stiff resistance by the LTTE, Ampaa'rai district LTTE Political Head Kaviyarasan said.


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SL Parliament to debate Rajapakse-LTTE bribe allegation

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 September 2007, 11:15 GMT]
Sri Lanka Parliament is to debate an adjournment motion moved by Mr.Sripathi Sooriyarachchi, co-ordinator of the Peoples Wing of he Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) on Thursday on the controversial allegation that Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse had given money to the LTTE on the eve of 2005 November presidential election.
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Sign of the times in Tamil Nadu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 18 September 2007, 00:40 GMT]
Veteran Tamil Nadu activist Pazha Nedumaran’s attempted crossing of the Palk Straits in a bid to deliver emergency relief to Sri Lanka’s Tamils was thwarted last week when he and hundreds of volunteers were arrested. Whilst the attempted crossing and its ‘failure’ has been dismissed, especially in Sri Lanka’s south, as a stunt by mavericks on the fringe of Tamil Nadu’s politics, the event has both highlighted and boosted resurgent support in the south Indian state for the Sri Lankan Tamils’ cause.
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Two STF commandos killed in Tiger ambush in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Monday, 17 September 2007, 21:38 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) launched an ambush attack of Sri Lanka Task Force (STF) patrol unit Monday around 9:40 a.m at Bakmitiyawa in Ampaa'rai district, killing two and seriously injuring three of the troops in the unit, LTTE sources in Ampaa'rai said.
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Clashes in Ki'laali seas

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 September 2007, 13:49 GMT]
Liberation Tigers and Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) clashed in Ki'laali seas for nearly an hour starting from 8:00 a.m. Saturday, the Palaly military command said. Liberation Tigers said they attacked Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) boats attempting to infiltrate the stretch of seas under LTTE's control, resulting in exchange of fire. The SLN said that they took defensive action to confront LTTE boats entering Ki'laali seas.
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Pirapaharan pays homage to Thileepan on 20th anniversary

[TamilNet, Saturday, 15 September 2007, 13:11 GMT]
Leader of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Velupillai Pirapaharan, paid homage to Lt. Col. Thileepan (Rasiah Parthipan), at an undisclosed location in Vanni Saturday. Thileepan, LTTE's political wing leader for the Jaffna district, who fasted unto death in a twelve days' campaign putting forward five demands to the Indian government to meet the aspirations of the Tamil people soon after the signing of the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement in 1987.
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11 STF troopers killed in four separate incidents in Ampaa'rai - LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 September 2007, 22:40 GMT]
Eleven Special Task Force (STF) troopers were killed and four others were injured in four separate LTTE attacks in Ampa'rai district on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, LTTE District Political Head of Ampaa'rai, P. Kaviyarasan told media Friday.


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2 SLA troops injured in artillery duel in Thenmaraadchi

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 September 2007, 17:27 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers sustained serious injuries when the SLA and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) exchanged heavy artillery and Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) fire Friday early morning, the SLA in Jaffna said.
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SLA, LTTE clash in Kearatheevu

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 September 2007, 07:09 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna said that it troops attacked Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) combatants in the Forward Defence Line (FDL) positions at A'rukuve'li and Kearatheevu area Thursday morning. SLA also claimed that it had recovered weapons in the search conducted in the said areas. LTTE has not released any information about the clash.


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Bishop Malcolm Ranjith refutes press reports over his meeting with Rajapaksa

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 September 2007, 01:26 GMT]
Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Malcom, the secretary of the Congregation of Divine Worship of the Vatican, who visited Vanni Thursday to meet Liberation Tigers Political Head S.P. Thamilchelvan, has refuted press reports in Colombo which said that the Bishop had appreciated the Sri Lankan president for his measures to "wipe out terrorism," when he met the SL president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Monday. "I never said I appreciated anything connected with the war. I did not go for the meeting with the President to say such things," Bishop Malcolm dismissed the media reports in Colombo. "I don't appreciate war mongering or any violence," he futher told the reporters in Ki'linochchi.
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2 Thenmaraadchi civilians seek protection with Jaffna HRC

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 September 2007, 18:33 GMT]
Two men sought protection with the Jaffna Human Rights Commission (HRC), Thursday, due to death threats and several abduction attempts by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) and SLA-backed paramilitary.
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Urumpiraay Sivakumaran's mother conferred with Naaddupattaa'lar award

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 September 2007, 00:20 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Tuesday posthumously conferred "Naaddu pattaa'lar" (Patriot) title on Mrs Annaledchumi Ponnuthurai, mother of Ponnuththurai Sivakumaran, honouring her for her passionate interest in the Tamil community and the contribution she made for the Tamil cause.
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