News In Brief

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The Tigers killed 8 Sri Lankan soldiers today. Poor conditions are allowing disease to spread in Thenmaradchi.
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Tigers shell Batticaloa army HQ

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
More than sixteen Sri Lankan soldiers were injured this morning around 7.45 a.m when the Liberation Tigers launched a long range heavy mortar attack on the Third Brigade headquarters in the Batticaloa town.
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War main cause of heart attack among Sinhala women

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
One of the main causes of heart attacks among Sinhala women in the southern province of Sri Lanka is the war in the Northeast said Dr. Ruwan Ekanayake of from the Karapitiya hospital in Galle.
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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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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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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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News In Brief

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The Liberation Tiger units in Jaffna have stepped up their attacks whilst in the east, another Sri Lankan detachment was overrun last night.
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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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Sri Lankan depots overrun on Sunday

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
The LTTE confirmed today that they had overrun the newly established depots supplying the Sri Lankan army's 53rd division in the Vanni on Sunday night and captured a huge quantity of arms and ammunition.
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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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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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Wounded soldiers condemn Sri Lanka's war

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 October 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Speaking at a public meeting held in the Ampara town hall recently, Commander H.K Dayaratne, president of the association representing the permanently wounded soldiers of the Sri Lankan army, condemned Sinhala politicians for opportunistically seeking political advantage by carrying on with the war in the Tamil homelands.
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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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Jaffna is afraid: former UN representative

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 September 1997, 12:04 GMT]
A former representative of Sri Lanka to the UN has recently completed a visit to Jaffna and the east of the island. Speaking anonymously to the Independent Broadcasting Corporation, a European Tamil language radio service, the official outlined some his observations and spoke of his concern for the Jaffna populace.
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Body count: an illusive index of 'progress'

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 September 1997, 12:00 GMT]
"In a war without battle lines, perhaps the best overall index of progress is that of casualties". This view was delivered as part of the orientation given to newcomers to the US military's Saigon HQ at the height of the conflict in Vietnam. Despite several Sri Lankan offensives against the Tamil Tigers, the LTTE continues to vigorously resist the Sinhalese army in the Tamil homelands. In a bid to show 'progress' in its war, the Sri Lankans have developed a preoccupation with body counts.
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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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Tigers maul SLA flank

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 September 1997, 00:00 GMT]
In heavy fighting Thursday morning, LTTE units defending Puliyankulum ambushed a Sri Lankan army column attempting to outflank the town's network of defences. Dozens of Sri Lankan troops have been killed in the savage fighting that occurred around midnight Wednesday.
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LTTE allays shipping fears

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 September 1997, 00:00 GMT]
On Thursday, the LTTE allayed international concern over its recent attack on a cargo ship. The Tigers said their destruction of the ship, the 'MV Cordiality', which had been hired by the Sri Lankan government, was intended to prevent the stripping of the Tamil people's mineral resources. The Tigers said that the attack should not be considered 'prejudicial to international trade or shipping'.
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The Jaffna people's dilemma

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 September 1997, 00:00 GMT]
The city of Jaffna has had some foreign visitors recently. A team from Amnesty International and the United Nations special rapporteur on extra judicial, summary or arbitrary executions spent a few days in the city separately. The human rights officials were intent on assessing local conditions for themselves. However, the brevity of their visits and the pervasive presence of their hosts, the Sri Lankan military, ensured that the picture presented to them was to the Sri Lankan government's liking.
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