SLA reconnaissance unit repulsed in Muhamalai, 5 killed - Ilanthirayan

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 October 2006, 13:01 GMT]
A unit of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers, on a frontal reconnaissance mission, moved into the LTTE territory across Muhamalai Forward Defence Line (FDL) Sunday morning around 6:30 a.m., LTTE Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said. The SLA unit was repulsed into no-go zone, with at least five dead bodies, and the unit retreated leaving behind 3 weapons, he said. Meanwhile, residents in Jaffna said the SLA intensified Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) artillery fire towards LTTE territory Sunday evening.
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STF fires artillery shells into LTTE territory in Amparai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 October 2006, 10:35 GMT]
Sri Lankan Special Task Force troops in Kanjirankudah STF base intensified artillery fire towards Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Kanchikudichcharu, Vinayakapuram and Thankavelauthapuram areas Sunday evening at 3:00 p.m., LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said. Civilians in the LTTE controlled area were forced to flee and take refuge at safer locations.
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SLA preparing for Jaffna offensive, Tigers warn SLMM

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 16:30 GMT]
Heavy deployment of Sri Lankan armed forces is reported in Thenmaradchi and Vadamaradchi East along the Northern Front Saturday, LTTE sources said. The Peace Secretariat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Saturday night, in an urgent communiqué to the Head of SLMM, informed Sri Lanka's military build-up and urged the monitors to take immediate steps to visit Muhamalai FDL and confirm Sri Lanka's preparations for the offensive. LTTE's Political Head told TamilNet that LTTE is concerned of SLMM's limited access to Muhamalai. Unhindered access is vital for a fair and neutral judgement on the SLA offensive that will likely lead to a full-scale war, Thamilchelvan said.
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12 SLA soldiers missing in "Mankerni fighting" - SL Defense Ministry

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 16:26 GMT]
Twelve soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) have been reported missing in the fight with the LTTE in Mankerni area, private electronic media reported Saturday evening quoting defence ministry sources. The announcement comes after a Sri Lankan soldier, who was captured alive in LTTE controlled Panichchankerni in a Sri Lankan offensive towards LTTE controlled Vaharai.
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Political package to be prepared before GoSL-LTTE peace talks

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 16:04 GMT]
Political package for solving the ethnic crisis would be prepared by the All Party Conference (APC) before the peace talks between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which is scheduled to begin during the last week of October, APC Chairman Professor Tissa Vitarana said Saturday.
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Colombo declines to receive bodies of dead soldiers, captured soldier talks to media

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 08:07 GMT]
The fighting formation of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) forces, "boxed" an area of 10 square kilometers and defeated Sri Lankan offensive towards Vaharai Friday, LTTE Trincomalee Political Head S. Elilan said Saturday. Accusing Sri Lanka for violating the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) and the Geneva Agreement of disarming the paramilitary cadres, Mr. Elian said 400 Sri Lankan troops, including 80 paramilitary cadres, were involved in the Sri Lankan offensive. K.M.S. Ratnayake, a soldier from Sri Lanka's 6th Battalion of Gemunu Watch, was captured alive by the Tigers. Colombo has refused to accept 9 bodies of SLA soldiers killed in the encounter, Mr. Elilan said.
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LTTE Political Head writes to Norwegian facilitator

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 06:00 GMT]
The Political Head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, S.P. Thamilchelvan Friday sent an urgent letter to the Norwegian Special Envoy, Jon Hanssen-Bauer, informing the Norwegian facilitator on the LTTE stand following the Sri Lankan offensive in Vaharai. The LTTE decision to abide by the Co-Chairs call was a goodwill gesture, extended to the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL), the officials in Kilinochchi said alluding that the LTTE leadership's message was a reminder of the moral obligations bound with the call to cease the violence in creating a conducive environment for talks.
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Three-pronged SLA offensive thwarted - Elilan

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2006, 13:40 GMT]
The Tiger forces repulsed a three-pronged Sri Lanka Army offensive on LTTE controlled Vaharai territory after a defensive fight that lasted for 11 hours, LTTE's Trincomalee District Political Head S. Elilan said. At least seven civilians were wounded in heavy SLA shelling towards civilian settlements. More than 30 SLA troopers were killed, and one wounded soldier was captured alive, Mr. Elilan said. The offensive was launched from Kajuwatte SLA camp, south of Vaharai towards Panichchankerni, from Sinhapura SLA camp 3 km inside the LTTE territory in Kattumurivu and Sri Lanka Navy attempted to land troops in Panichchankerni around 1:00 p.m., according to initial reports from Vaharai.
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LTTE Defence Council discusses military situation - Ilanthirayan

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2006, 09:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army troopers, engaged in a new offensive, have moved north of Mankerni into Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled area in an offensive drive towards Panichchankerni, according to Tigers. "The Sri Lankan offensive has disregarded the assurances of ceasing all violence acts and the call by the International Community for talks," LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said. The Tigers have called on the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission to ensure monitoring access to the border areas where Sri Lankan forces were engaged in offensive acts. The Defence Council of the LTTE has been summoned to discusss the current development, he further said.
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JHU demands GoSL to stick to 'Mahinda Chinthanaya'

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2006, 08:25 GMT]
Ellavala Methanatha Thera, leader of Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), the all monk Sinhala national party, speaking on the Emergency extension bill debate in the Sri Lanka Parliament Thursday, said the Sinhalese people made Mahinda Rajapakse the Sri Lanka's President only on the basis of 'Mahinda Chinthanaya' which categorically rejects a Tamil Homeland, a Tamil Nation and the Tamils' right to self-determination, and the peace talks should be held on this basis, parliamentary sources in Colombo said.
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SLA launches new offensive towards Vaharai

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2006, 05:21 GMT]
Sri Lankan forces have launched a new offensive towards Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Vaharai region Friday morning. Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops from Mankerni SLA camp advanced into LTTE controlled territory south of Vaharai with heavy artillery shelling, Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombardment and rocket fire from the Sri Lanka Navy gunboats, according to civilian sources. Thousands of civilians, most of them recently displaced from Trincomalee, were struggling to flee to safer areas. Civilian casualty figures are yet to be reported. "An inhumane war has been thrust upon 61,000 civilians," says Trincomalee District parliamentarian Thurairatnasingham.
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Shortage of children milk food in Jaffna - NCJ

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2006, 22:21 GMT]
39,000 children under the age of five face malnutrition in Jaffna due to severe shortage of infant food including milk, said North Ceylon Association of Journalists (NCJ) in an appeal Thursday to the Jaffna residential representatives of International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), civil society sources said. The NCJ sought the assistance of the ICRC to bring in milk food products to Jaffna peninsula.


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SLFP, UNP to sign MoU

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2006, 13:01 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s two main parties, the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the main opposition United National Party (UNP), have agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) before 15th of October 2006, SLFP sources said Thursday. The UNP and the SLFP are expected to announce formally agreement in a joint statement later in the day.
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Sri Lanka doubles defence spending

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2006, 10:46 GMT]
Sri Lanka's hardline government plans to double defence spending next year, Reuters reported Thursday. Defence spending will rise 100 percent next year to 139.6 billion rupees from 69.5 billion budgeted for 2006, the appropriation bill seen by Reuters ahead of its presentation to parliament showed.
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TNA's sit-in-protest in Sri Lanka's parliament enters fifth day

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2006, 12:04 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians Wednesday continued their sit-in-protest for the fifth day Wednesday in Sri Lanka's parliament demanding the immediate opening of the A-9 land route to Jaffna district linking other parts of the country and lift economic embargo on the Jaffna population since the fresh fight broke out between the Sri Lankan troopers and the LTTE on August 11.
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SLAF Kfir jets bomb Vadamaradchi East

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2006, 04:24 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers flew over Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Kudarappu in Vadamaradchi East and dropped at least nine bombs in the area around 9:15 a.m. Wednesday. Four Tsunami reconstructed houses were destroyed in the bombardment, according to residents.
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Civilians turn to SLHRC for protection amid death threats

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2006, 00:06 GMT]
More than 15 internally displaced families from Maduvil north in Thenmaradchchy complained that they have been receiving death threats from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), and sought protection from the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (SLHRC) Jaffna office, civil society sources in Jaffna said Tuesday. IDPs say they fear for their lives if they return to their homes in Thenmaradchy without security guarantees, the IDPs said.
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SLAF bombs Vanni as Special Envoy meets Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 October 2006, 11:07 GMT]
Three Kfir jet bombers of Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) flew over Vanni and attacked Pooneryn as Norwegian Special Envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer met the Liberation Tigers Political Head S. P. Thamilchelvan in Kilinochchi to discuss the modalities for creating a conducive environment for talks, LTTE sources in Kilinochchi said. Mr. Thamilchelvan told media after the meeting that Colombo was continuously engaged in "offensive aggression," despite the assurances given to the Norwegian facilitators following the call by the Co-Chairs to cease all violence. Tigers were still extending support to unconditional talks as urged by the International Community, the LTTE political head told TamilNet.
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Jaffna fisher familes driven to abject poverty, starvation - NPFC

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 October 2006, 10:25 GMT]
The International community should immediately intervene to help prevent the fisher families in the Jaffna peninsula from being driven close to starvation due to the total ban on fishing enforced by government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) in the peninsula, said the President of Northern Province Fishermen Consortium (NPFC) Mr. C. Thavaratnam, in an urgent appeal made to the International Community Monday, in Jaffna.


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Murunkan Police retaliates against attack, 1 killed, 4 civilians wounded

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 October 2006, 09:21 GMT]
Murunkan Police Tuesday said they retaliated a group of attackers who lobbed grenade and shot at two police checkposts behind the Murunkan Police station around 2:00 a.m. Four civilians, 2 family men and 2 teenage girls, in Murunkanpitty were wounded when Police fired mortar shells. Additional policemen, Special Task Force (STF) personnel and Sri Lanka Army troopers were rushed to the site. Troopers recovered the body of a youth with gunshot injuries which the Police claimed to be of a LTTE cadre.
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