Food supplies to Mullaitivu cut off

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Officials at the district secretariat in Vavuniya confirmed today that food supplies cannot be sent to the eastern part of the Mullaithivu district, as the Sri Lankan army has stopped all supplies from passing on the Mankulam - Ottisuddan - Mullaithivu road.
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Civilians flee SLA shelling

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Reports from Vavuniya said today that a large number of displaced persons who had settled in the eastern sector of the Mullaithivu district following Operation Riviresa in early 1996, have begun moving enmasse to the western areas of the Vanni.
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Mullaitivu faces total blockade

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The supply of food and other essential goods to the Mullaitivu district may soon been cut off sources in Vavuniya said today. This is mainly due to the SLA's shelling of the dirt road from Kilinochchi district to Mullaitivu and the effect of the monsoon showers on the access road into the Vanni through Madhu.
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A new SLA division - and a new deadline

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The Sri Lankan army raised a new division this week to throw into its operations against the Liberation Tigers in the Vanni jungles.The new unit is Div.56. It is an infantry division.
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TULF politician helped plan 'Jaya Sikurui' - paper

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
'Thinamurasu' the Tamil weekly tabloid with the largest circulation in Sri Lanka accused a senior Tamil politician today of providing valuable information about a little known, but strategic jungle track to the Sri Lankan army engaged in Operation Jayasikurui.
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Heavy fighting east of Kanakarayan Kulam

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Heavy fighting in the general area east of Kanakarayan Kulam erupted last night when the Liberation Tigers launched a concentrated attack on the Sri Lankan army positions there.
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Tigers Attack Sri Lankan Army in Mannar Again

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers launched an attack on a Sri Lankan army position in Mannar today.
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Hartal Brings Vavuniya to Standstill

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The Vavuniya town came to a standstill today due to a hartal called by the PLOTE. All shops were closed, the Kachcheri did not function as staff kept away from work, there was no public transport and the morning train from Colombo returned empty soon after it arrived.
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Murungan Police Station Overrun

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Thamil Eelam overran the Murungan Police station in the early hours of morning today while they continue to battle the isolated troops of the 53rd Division at Karuppatta Murippu.
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PLOTE's Deputy condemns US action

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The Deputy leader of the PLOTE, Manikkam Dasan issued a strong statement in Vavuniya this evening condemning the American government for listing the LTTE as a terrorist organization.
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SLA suffers heavy casualties

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Over 500 Sri Lankan soldiers have died in bitter fighting in the Vanni in the past 5 days, the LTTE said today. The Liberation Tigers also say that 3 villages occupied by the SLA have been retaken. A huge quantity of arms and ammunition and several vehicles have been captured.
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Military to conduct Jaffna elections

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Local government elections will be held in the Jaffna peninsula in January next year said Sri Lanka's deputy minister for defense, Gen.Anuruddha Ratwatte. He stated that the PA government is making arrangements for the elections with a view to creating a leadership for development work in the peninsula.
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News In Brief

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Heavy fighting is taking place in the Vanni. The Jaffna satyagraha protests are to continue and several Tamil Nadu fishermen have been arrested allegedly for assisting the LTTE. A Sinhala paper says a Buddhist priest raped 4 teenagers.
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LTTE rolls back Sri Lankan advance

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
In two days of heavy fighting, LTTE units have rolled back Sri Lankan army columns to their former positions in the Periyamadu region, just north of the Nedunkerni-Puliyankulam road. However, the Sri Lankan army claims its forces are 'consolidating' captured positions.
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Tigers keep up Vanni attacks

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The LTTE said today that they had surrounding Sri Lankan troops at Kara Patta Murippu who had been trapped when the rest of the 53rd SLA division had been forced back by LTTE counterattacks. Sources close to the army also said that the LTTE had launched a massive attack southeast of Kankarayan Kulam.
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Heavy fighting continues in Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Heavy fighting continued today at Kanakarayan Kulam and on the Mankulam Ottisuddan road as the Liberation Tigers stepped up attacks on columns of Sri Lankan army's Div.53.
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News In Brief

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Tamil refugees in Trincomalee demand to be kept and moved together. Sri Lankan navy further restricts movements of people to islands off Jaffna. Meanwhile, Jaffna's crops are failing and the city's infrastructure, destroyed by Sri Lankan shelling, is in tatters.
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Tigers rout Sri Lankan advance

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Heavy fighting between troops of the Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lankan army which erupted southwest of Mullaithivu at Manavaalan Patta Murippu yesterday (Sunday Oct.5) continues. Although the intensity of the fighting has come down today, the army is expecting a major counter attack by the Liberation Tigers on its hastily organized defenses at Manvaalan Patta Murippu on the Mankulam - Ottisuddan road.
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News In Brief

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
A PLOTE militant suspected of several murders is organising a satyagraha campaign to aid his election campaign and the LTTE have destroyed two SLA trucks at Omanthai.
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Sinhalese doctors quit over 'army vulnerability'

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Fourteen Sinhalese doctors along with some of their Muslim colleagues working at the Mannar base hospital vacated their posts on Friday. On their way to Colombo, they reported to Sri Lankan military officials in Vavuniya that they were abandoning their posts due to a major threat from the Liberation Tigers which the Sri Lankan security forces were facing in the Mannar island, where the base hospital is located.
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