Child Rights group acts to release LTTE under-age recruits

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 May 2007, 23:39 GMT]
Tamileelam Child Protection Board (TCPB), an authority empowered by the Liberation Tigers' Political Wing with the task of implementing Tamileelam Child Protection Act, has urgently requested the parents of children under 17 who had joined the LTTE and yet to be released, to contact the TCPB, in an announcement published Tuesday in Eezhanaatham, the Tamil daily circulated in LTTE controlled areas.
Full story >>

UK, USA, assuming Policeman role in Sri Lankan affairs - Wimal Weerawanse

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 May 2007, 01:05 GMT]
"Britain and the USA have assumed the role of policemen in the affairs of Sri Lanka," the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) propaganda secretary, Wimal Weerawanse accused at an adjournment debate in Sri Lanka parliament Tuesday, parliamentary sources in Colombo said.
Full story >>

LTTE, SLA clash in Vavuniya Mannar border

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 May 2007, 14:15 GMT]
Liberation Tigers Tuesday said they repulsed another Sri Lankan offensive in Vavu:niyaa Ma:n:naar border around 2:30 p.m. LTTE's field officials claimed to have recovered a dead body of a Sri Lankan trooper and military hardware including an AK-LMG after putting up stiff resistance against the SLA for 30 minutes. Two LTTE fighters were killed in action.
Full story >>

SLA soldiers search Thiriyaai village

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 May 2007, 16:07 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Monday morning conducted cordon and search operation in Thiriyaai, a traditional Tamil village located about 42 km off north of Trincomalee town along Trincomalee-Thennamaravaady road. The operation was launched following the attack on a group of SLA soldiers Sunday night in which one soldier sustained injuries.
Full story >>

LTTE hands over 5 SLA bodies to ICRC

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 May 2007, 11:06 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) officials Monday around 1:30 p.m. handed over the bodies of five soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) killed in action during a SLA initiated offensive Sunday, to a delegation of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC). The handing over event took place at Vaddakka'ndal where the LTTE Mannar (Ma:n:naar) district political secretariat is located.
Full story >>

Gas shortage looming after LTTE air raid - paper

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 May 2007, 14:27 GMT]
Sri Lanka is facing an imminent gas shortage after last Saturday’s LTTE air raid as the bombs had scored a direct hit on the firefighting unit of the Kerawalapitiya storage complex of Shell Gas Lanka Ltd, forcing the company to shut down the facility, the Sunday Times reported. Shell is the biggest gas supplier in Sri Lanka with an 80 per cent share of the market. Market sources told the paper the other main supplier - and Shell’s arch rival - Laugfs Gas is unable to meet the immediate shortfall even if it steps up its refilling operations.
Full story >>

Tigers repulse Sri Lankan offensive in Mannar, recover 5 SLA bodies

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 May 2007, 13:41 GMT]
Liberation Tigers recovered 5 dead bodies of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers as more than 300 SLA troopers who advanced into LTTE controlled area in Thampa:nai in Mannar (Ma:n:naar) - Vavu:niya border were repulsed after 10 hours of heavy fighting in the area, LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan told media in Ki'linochchi.
Full story >>

Sri Lanka buying advanced fighter jets from Russia - paper

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 May 2007, 11:50 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s air force is shortly to take delivery of five advanced fighter aircraft from Russia to counter the threat posed by the LTTE’s air wing, The Nation newspaper reported Sunday. In addition to buying the five MiG 29 interceptors, Sri Lanka is looking to upgrade its ground attack Kfirs to interceptor role by adding radars and missiles, the paper said.


Full story >>

3 STF troopers killed, 4 injured in claymore attack, in Kokkaddichcholai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 May 2007, 10:32 GMT]
Unidentified persons triggered a claymore device Sunday around 10:00 a.m at Kokkaddichcholai in Batticaloa, killing three Special Task Force (STF) troopers and injuring four. The injured troopers were rushed to Batticaloa Teaching hospital. The STF took over the bodies of the troopers killed in the attack.
Full story >>

SLA assault repulsed in Vavuniya - LTTE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 May 2007, 05:51 GMT]
A group of Sri Lanka Army soldiers who attempted to move towards Naavatku'lam in Liberation Tigers controlled territory in Vavuniya Mannar border Sunday morning were repulsed and 2 SLA soldiers were killed, LTTE's military spokesman told media. On Saturday, five days after the Tigers shot down a Sri Lankan jet fighter, the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) attacked Puthukkudiyiruppu in Mullaiththeevu district. Meanwhile, 3 Sea Tigers were killed in action Friday night, when a sea-fight broke off Pulmoaddai in the north-east coast. Both the LTTE and the Sri Lanka Navy claimed to have inflicted heavy damage on the other in the clash off Pulmoaddai seas.
Full story >>

LTTE hands over two SLA bodies to ICRC

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 May 2007, 17:58 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Liason officer for the NGOs, Thiyagarajah, Friday morning at 10:00 a.m., handed over the bodies of two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers to Maurizio Geremila, Acting Head of Sub Delegation of ICRC, at the secretariat for Non Governmental Organizations (NGO), sources in Kilinochchi said.
Full story >>

Muslim teacher arrested with weapons in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 May 2007, 05:41 GMT]
Thampalakaamam Police arrested a Muslim teacher Monday night after recovering a hand grenade and a T 56 rifle magazine with 27 live- bullets, hidden in the roof of his house at Mullippoththaanai, along Thampalakaamam - Kanthalaai road in Trincomalee. The police searched the teacher's house from a tip-off, police sources said. He is currently being detained at the Thampalakaamam police station.
Full story >>

UK lawmakers urge LTTE de-proscription

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 May 2007, 23:47 GMT]
Amid signs of greater British involvement in efforts to end Sri Lanka’s conflict, the UK government was this week urged by ruling and opposition lawmakers to lift the ban on the Liberation Tigers in the interests of a negotiated solution. At a landmark debate on Sri Lanka’s conflict in the British Parliament on Wednesday, leaders of a newly formed all party group representing the interests of the island’s Tamils urged the Blair government to lift the ban on the LTTE and also called for LTTE political leaders to be allowed to address the British parliament to better understand their views.
Full story >>

SLA offensive thwarted, bodies captured - LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 May 2007, 09:26 GMT]
Liberation Tigers have repulsed a fresh offensive by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Vavuniya Mannar border Thursday morning, LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan told media in Kilinochchi. 2 dead bodies of SLA soldiers were captured with arms and ammunition by the Tigers when the SLA offensive towards Paalmpiddi by more than 300 SLA troopers was thwarted, Mr. Ilanthirayan said. A Tiger fighter was killed in action.
Full story >>

2 SLA troopers injured in claymore blast in Vadamaraadchchi

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 May 2007, 19:00 GMT]
Two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers were injured Wednesday around 9:15 a.m, when a claymore device hidden in an empty building along Vathiri-Udupiddi road in Navindil, Karaveddy in Vadamaraadchchi, exploded when the troopers tried to remove the device, sources in Vadmaraadchchi said. One of the troopers is seriously injured while the other sustained minor injuries.
Full story >>

Tiger planes hit Sri Lanka economy

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 May 2007, 18:12 GMT]
Whilst Sri Lanka’s government has brushed aside the threat posed by the Liberation Tigers’ air attacks, the tourist industry is bracing for further setbacks as airlines pull out and other countries warn citizens to stay away. In addition to tourist arrivals falling further, Colombo’s potential as a passenger transit hub was been stymied, Hindustan Times reported. Defence spending is expected to soar as Colombo defends against the LTTE’s aircraft. Even before the recent raids, ratings agency Fitch had given Sri Lanka a rating of BB- with a negative outlook as the domestic security situation posed risks to economic stability and growth.
Full story >>

Australia arrests will jeopardize humanitarian help- AFTA

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 May 2007, 11:55 GMT]
The recent arrests in Australia of Tamil activists on allegations of misdirecting of funds for the LTTE, "could jeopardize the humanitarian projects funded by the Australian Tamil community and NGOs that assist over 500,000 internally displaced Tamil civilians in the Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka. Denial of this assistance to the needy would only help the Sri Lankan government in their attempt to “beat the Tamil people in Sri Lanka into submission,"" the Australasian Federation Of Tamil Associations (AFTA) said in a press release issued Wednesday.
Full story >>

May Day observed in Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 May 2007, 10:41 GMT]
Hundreds of residents of different parts of Vanni participated in the May Day events held Tuesday in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts, sources in Kilinochchi said. Three separate regional events were held in Kilinochchi district, and the event in Kilinochchi town was held in the Kilinochci Co-operative Hall at 10:00 a.m.
Full story >>

3 Tamil IDPs shot dead in Ea'raavoor

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 May 2007, 09:51 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers lying in ambush along a lake at Siththaa'ndi in Ea'raavoor police division in Batticaloa district shot dead three Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) including a woman, who had gone Sunday to check their cultivation.


Full story >>

LTTE: Sri Lankan MIG-27 jet fighter shot down

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 April 2007, 14:38 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) jet fighter was shot down by Liberation Tigers air-defense system when the bomber approached the airfield of the Tamileelam Air Force (TAF) in Ira'naimadu Monday around 2:30 p.m., LTTE military spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said. The SLAF bomber, following a loud explosion, went down into the sea, Mr. Ilanthirayan said.
Full story >>