Elections only after military victory: Ratwatte

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Deputy Minister for Defence General Anuruddha Ratwatte told the Sinhala daily Lankadeepa, today that Provincial council elections to the northeast would be held only after the army succeeds in opening the main road to Jaffna from Vavuniya.
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Tigers repulse SLA assault

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
In heavy fighting on Tuesday, Tamil Tiger forces drove back a renewed Sri Lankan army assault in the Puliyankulam area. SLA units which had bypassed Puliyankulam were advancing on Kanakarayankulam when LTTE forces counter-attacked, inflicting heavy casualties and capturing a large quantity of weaponry.
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Heavy going for SLA armour

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 September 1997, 12:00 GMT]
With the monsoon underway, heavy rain is affecting the fighting in the Vanni region. The rain is turning the terrain around Puliyankulam into a sea of mud, which is posing new difficulties for the hard pressed Sri Lankan forces there. The conditions are also said to be affecting the Tigers.
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Suicide bomber threat sustains support for war

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 September 1997, 12:00 GMT]
The Colombo public have an abhorrent fear of suicide bomb attacks. The threat seems ever present, even though there have been no suicide attacks in the capital for nearly two years. Surprisingly, the spectre of the suicide bomber is being revived time and again by the Sri Lankan government itself. The fear generated by the official warnings is sustaining public support for the government's war in the Tamil homelands.
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Tamil people mourn LTTE commander

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 September 1997, 12:00 GMT]
The Tamil people mourned the death of a senior LTTE officer in areas not controlled by the Sri Lankan army. Lt. Col. Pavarasan was killed on September 10th at Puliyankulum, where heavy fighting has been raging for the past few weeks. Two Sri Lankan divisions deployed to capture a road between Vavuniya and the Jaffna peninsula have been stalled at Puliyankulum amid stiff Tiger resistance.
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Tamil children raped

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 September 1997, 05:18 GMT]
A six year old Tamil girl was reported to have been raped by several Sri Lankan soldiers in Jaffna. The child is said to have been seriously injured during the assault. This is the latest in a number of attacks on children that have been carried out by Sinhalese troops operating in Tamil areas, and fears are growing of a paedophile network within the Sri Lankan military.
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Mankulum takes a pounding

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 August 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Sri Lankan artillery has been targeting the Tamil town of Mankulum. The SLA is believed to be trying to disrupt LTTE plans to fortify the town, in the light of continued stiff resistance at Puliyankulum. Much of Mankulum had been blasted into rubble in earlier SLA shelling, but the latest shelling is pounding the ruins yet again.
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Puliyankulum battle continues

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 August 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The Sri Lankan army's latest attempt to capture the small town of Puliyankulum continued into its second week yesterday. Fierce fighting was reported from the area as LTTE units fought off repeated Sri Lankan assaults. The SLA is said to have suffered heavy casualties according to reports from the government held town of Vavuniya.
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Puliyankulum defences frustrate SLA

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 August 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Heavy fighting was reported around Puliyankulum on Wednesday, as Sri Lankan troops tried repeatedly to breach Tamil Tiger defences for the second day. The Sri Lankans are throwing thousands of troops into the attacks, backing them with tanks, artillery and air power. The SLA attacks are being launched from within two miles of the town, but the Tiger defenders are said to be offering stiff resistance.
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Priest protests over bombing

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 August 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Rev. Father Maulis has written to the United Nations protesting over the bombing of his church by Sri Lankan Air Force jets last Friday. Nine Tamil civilians were killed when the SLAF Kfirs dropped four 250kg bombs onto the church premises which also serves as a refugee camp. Copies of Father Maulis' letter to the UNHCR were distributed to other international NGOs operating in the Vanni.
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Sri Lankan jets kill civilians

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 August 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Sri Lankan air force jets bombed a crowded church at Vavunikulam on Friday, killing at least nine civilians, and injuring 15 others. 10 civilians were seriously injured in another attack at Puthuvilankulam two hours later. The Sri Lankan military has routinely attacked Tamil places of worship and other civilian targets, as part of its offensives in the Tamil homelands.
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SLA forced to change plan.

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 August 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The twin prongs of the Sri Lankan military's Operation 'Jaya Sikiru' are said to have linked up, the SLA spokesman, Brig. S. Munasinghe, said on Thursday. However, the troops have still not been able to overrun the small town of Puliyankulum, due to continuing Tamil resistance around the town. LTTE units are said to be continuing to launch mortar attacks on the SLA troops 2kms south of the town.
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Sri Lanka Army push stalled

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 August 1997, 23:59 GMT]
A renewed Sri Lankan attempt to capture the town of Puliyankulum was stopped on Thursday night, the LTTE said Friday. The sudden lunge towards Puliyankulum comes several weeks after the Sri Lankan operation 'Jaya Sikuru' stalled following two fierce LTTE counter attacks. The Sri Lankans said there had been fighting in the area, but did not admit to a renewed push being stopped.
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Wishful thinking - or simply deceptive lies?

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 July 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Last Thursday, the Sri Lankan army spokesman, Brigadier Sarath Munasinghe, claimed that the Tigers were being defeated and that victory was in sight. Paradoxically, his comments were made as the SLA's biggest offensive remained stalled following fierce LTTE counter attacks. However, the moral boosting claims also come at a time when the SLA is desperately trying to recruit more troops and to coax thousands of deserters back into service.
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Tigers target sea bridge

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 July 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The LTTE confirmed yesterday that they had detained a Sri Lankan supply ship off the Jaffna peninsula on Monday and had taken it to Mullaitivu. The Tigers also said that one of the 38 North Korean crewmen was killed when the ship ignored orders to stop and was fired on. This second attack on a Sri Lankan supply ship within a week could indicate that having drastically reduced Sri Lankans' aerial supply capability, the Tigers are now turning their attention to the sea lines.
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Public anger breaks out over food siege

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 July 1997, 23:59 GMT]
As the Sri Lankan government's restriction on food and medicine into the Vanni causes untold suffering in the Vanni, frustration is building within the Tamil populace. A series of mass demonstrations are taking place in the area. Aid workers are also condemning the deliberate starvation of a people and government interference in their work.
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Trincomalee TULF MP assassinated

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 July 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Mr. A. Thangathurai, MP and four other people died when a grenade was thrown at them yesterday, as they were leaving a meeting held at a school in Trincomalee. The Sri Lankan government, as always, has immediately blamed the Tamil Tigers. However, there are other parties who may benefit significantly from the MP's death, including the local organised crime and political rivals.
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Sinhalese reporters aid war effort

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 July 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The predominantly Sinhalese Sri Lankan government is manipulating information about the war in the Tamil homelands by banning reporters from the area and issuing false reports about events occurring there. The government is assisted by the fact that most agency reporters are Colombo based, Sinhalese and on its side.
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Sri Lankan police desert combat posts

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 July 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Sri Lankan policemen, pressed into combat duty in the island's north are deserting their posts en-masse, according to local newspapers and travelers from the area. The desperate shortage of troops is forcing the Sri Lankan military to use unwilling policemen to protect the operation's rear.
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Sri Lanka continues to disrupt education in Tamil areas

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 June 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government's embargo on the Tamil homelands has starved Tamil schools of books and equipment for many years. Recently UNICEF attempted to alleviate the situation by supplying 3,000 floor mats for the Tamil school children to sit on during lessons. According to reports from Vavuniya, the Sri Lankan government has also stopped these from being delivered, continuing the systematic disruption of Tamil youngsters' education.
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