4 men, 1 woman killed, 3 SL troopers wounded in Jaffna attack

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 December 2005, 15:12 GMT]
Dead bodies of four men and a woman have been brought to the Jaffna Hospital at 10:30 p.m., medical sources in Jaffna said. The bodies, yet to be identified, have been recovered near Jaffna Fort where a firefight between unidentified gunmen and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers was reported at 6.10 p.m. Saturday. Three SLA soldiers were njured in the firefight, one of them seriously. The trooper with serious injuries was air lifted to Palaly military hospital, sources said. Meanwhile Sri Lanka military sources in Colombo claimed that those killed in Jaffna were armed men who ambushed their troopers. Tension prevails in Jaffna.
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Chavakachcheri woman succumbs to gunshot wounds

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 December 2005, 01:01 GMT]
Ms Markandu Pushpamalar (31), also known as Malar, who was injured when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired indiscriminately at civilians following a grenade attack on their checkpost in Chavakachcheri Friday 1.30 p.m, succumbed to injuries at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital Saturday morning, medical sources at the hospital said.
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28 wounded, 13 hospitalized in SLN revenge attack on IDPs

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 December 2005, 16:57 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) soldiers Friday evening around 5:30 p.m. entered the settlement of Internally Displaced People (IDP), the Victoria Hundred Houses scheme, and attacked the civilians with batons, bike-chains and shoes after tying their hands and legs. Eleven persons, 9 males and 2 females, were admitted to the Peripheral Medical unit in Pesalai and two men requiring further medical care were rushed to Mannar General Hospital. Another 15 persons, with minor injuries, have returned after treatment at OPD (Out Patients Department), medical sources said. Meanwhile, more than 100 families living along Talaimannar-Pesalai Road have moved into the Vetrimatha Church in Pesalai for safety.
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Vaiko meets Indian Premier, Defence Minister in New Delhi

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 December 2005, 13:54 GMT]
Vaiko, the General Secretary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) from the Tamil Nadu state in India, met Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in New Delhi Friday at 5 p.m. Following the meeting with the Indian Premier, Vaiko also met the Indian Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee Friday evening. When contacted by TamilNet, the MDMK chief Vaiko described his meetings with Manmohan Singh and Pranab Mukherjee as cordial and constructive. Sri Lanka was trying to trap India to get embroiled into Sri Lanka's conflict as it did in the eighties, Vaiko said, adding that he had cautioned the Indian leaders that Sri Lanka's moves are inimical to Tamil interests.
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SLA attacks on Jaffna civilians increase, NGO closes office

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 December 2005, 12:58 GMT]
Two civilians, Ms K Malar (31) and K Rajathurai (64) were seriously injured and were admitted to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital after Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers fired indiscriminately after the SLA sentry near the Multipurpose Cooperative building in Chavakachcheri came under grenade attack at 1.30 p.m. Friday, sources said.
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Chavakachcheri Police post comes under attack

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 December 2005, 12:29 GMT]
Chavakachcheri police post in Thenmaradchy came under grenade attack and small-arms fire at 8.30 p.m. Thursday, sources in Jaffna said. Police returned fire from their positions inside the Police station premises and the firefight lasted for more than 15 minutes, according to sources. No injuries were reported.
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Thirteen SLN troopers killed in Claymore attack in Mannar

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 December 2005, 09:21 GMT]
Thirteen Sri Lanka Navy sailors were killed and more than fifteen sailors were wounded in a Claymore attack on their bus in Pesalai 15 km northwest of Mannar around 1:30 p.m. Friday, SLN sources said. The vehicle, a bus, sustained heavy damage and has burned down, according to civilian sources. Sri Lanka Military has blocked all traffic.
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Mannar Police releases four fishermen, detains three

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 December 2005, 07:21 GMT]
Three internally displaced fishermen from Jaffna district, arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), while being engaged in fishing in Pallimunai in Mannar area, are still being detained in the Mannar police station for further investigation regarding the firefight that took place between the Sri Lanka Navy and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Thursday morning. They are among the seven arrested by the SLN following the firefight. The other four fishermen including two students who are residents of Pallimunai were released Thursday night around 11:30 p.m. to the relatives in the presence of Mannar Parish Priest Rev.F.A.Gnanapiragasam.
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Attacks escalate in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 December 2005, 08:42 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen and Sri Lanka Army soldiers exchanged gunfire for more than five minutes near Ainthusanthi, a junction in the outer suburb of Jaffna town around 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Four civilians, severely beaten up by the soldiers, were rushed to Jaffna Hospital. A policeman was wounded at Kantharmadam junction, 300 meters away from the University of Jaffna, around 1:00 p.m., when unidentified attackers launched an attack on the troopers, Police said. An SLA vehicle narrowly escaped from a claymore attack at Nelliyadi in Vadamardhci around 5:30 a.m. Thursday. Grenade attacks were reported in Ariyalai, Kopay, and near Nachimar Temple in Jaffna. Tension prevails in Jaffna.
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LTTE urges Norway to initiate steps to restore normalcy

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 December 2005, 06:15 GMT]
Noting that the Tamil people have been highly pertubed over the brutal rape and the murder of Tharshini Ilayathamby in Punguduthivu, and the military-unleashed violence on the peaceful demonstration where the Vice Chancellor of the Jaffna Univeristy was attacked and a lecturer was shot, has created "tension, panic and uncontrollable civilian unrest," the Political Head of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. S.P.Thamilchelvan has called for meaningful steps on the part of the Norwegian facilitators and the International Community in a letter addressed to the Norwegian Ambassador, Mr. Hans Brattskar on Wednesday.
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SLN boats attacked in Mannar, three troopers missing, one wounded

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 December 2005, 05:30 GMT]
A soldier of the Sri Lanka Navy Mr.S.G.T.Sanjeeva,23, was injured Thursday morning around 7.30 a.m. when unidentified attackers fired at three SLN boats enroute to Pallimunai camp in the Mannar town. The attackers have abducted three SLN soldiers with their patrol boat, Mannar Police said. A Tamil fisherman Mr.P.Rukman, 25, was also injured in the incident.


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SLA attacks on Jaffna protesters justified, says Fonseka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 December 2005, 20:52 GMT]
A "third force" in Jaffna is using peaceful demonstrations to instigate violence and therefore Sri Lanka Army (SLA) had to take defensive action, said Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, the Sri Lanka Army commander, justifying the recent attacks by the SLA soldiers on unarmed protesters in Jaffna, during a meeting between SL President Mahinda Rajapakse and TNA parliamentarians Wednesday at Temple trees, TNA sources said. The Vice Chancellor of Jaffna Campus, the Dean of the Arts Faculty and a TNA Member of Parliament were attacked, several students were injured and a lecturer received gunshot wounds when the SLA soldiers violently brokeup a peaceful demonstration near Jaffna campus Monday.
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SLA assault on VC, Arts Dean worrisome sign - NPC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 December 2005, 11:02 GMT]
National Peace Council (NPC), a Colombo based NGO, in a Media release issued on Wednesday condemned the security forces for attacking non-violent protests of students and staff of Jaffna campus, including Vice Chancellor and the Dean of Arts. The violence began when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers attacked the students marching to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) offices against the killing of Ilyathamby Tharsini (20) in Punguduthivu near an Sri Lanka Navy post. Postmortem examination has revealed that Tharsini was raped before being strangled to death.


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LTTE, SLMM meet in Pallai

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 December 2005, 01:03 GMT]
Recent attacks by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers on unarmed civilians have made Tamil people lose all confidence in the peace process and in the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA), C.Ilamparithy, Jaffna district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Tuesday told a two-member delegation of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Tuesday at the LTTE's political secretariat in Pallai. The pattern of attacks clearly indicates that the attacks were premeditated, Ilamparithy further told the SLMM.
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Tharsini raped before murder- Medical Report

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 December 2005, 18:43 GMT]
Ilayathamby Tharshini (20), whose body was recovered from an abandoned well in Punguduthivu Saturday, was brutally raped before being strangled to death, according to postmortem examination conducted in the Jaffna Teaching Hospital. Dr.Balasubramaniam, Judicial Medical Officer, who conducted the postmortem examination later handed over the medical report to the Kayts Police. The funeral of Tharshini was held Monday amid intimidation and threat by the Sri Lanka Navy personnel in Punguduthivu, residents said.
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World concerned over escalation of violence, Solheim calls for urgent talks

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 December 2005, 18:24 GMT]
The global community is gravely concerned over the rising tide of violence in the Jaffna peninsula and calling for urgent talks between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers to de-escalate the conflict. This message was conveyed to the LTTE’s Chief Negotiator and theoretician, Mr. Anton Balasingham when a high level Norwegian delegation met him at his London residence Tuesday morning, sources told TamilNet.
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SLA attacks protesting auto-rickshaw drivers in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 December 2005, 12:32 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers Tuesday 3.30 p.m. attacked group of more than one hundred auto-rickshaw drivers and their vehicles who had assembled in Jaffna town in a protest by the Auto-Owners Union in support of a colleague injured by the SLA Monday, sources in Jaffna said. The auto drivers blocked Stanley Road, Kasturiar road and the roads proximity to the SLA camp when the SLA attacked the protesters.
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TNA MPs protest, pandemonium in SL Parliament

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 December 2005, 11:24 GMT]
Pandemonium reigned in Sri Lanka Parliament Tuesday morning when Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians protested and shouted slogans against the firing on the Tamil civilians in Jaffna Monday injuring several undergrads and university teachers when they were proceeding in a peaceful march to the office of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), sources said.
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Withdraw armed forces from civilian inhabited areas in NE- TNA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 December 2005, 09:50 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in a statement tabled in parliament Tuesday demanded the Sri Lanka government to withdraw all armed forces from all civilian inhabited areas in the North East. TNA further called the government to take disciplinary and legal action against all members of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces who are responsible for the attack on Tamil civilians in Jaffna district in the last several days.
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No peace talks until SLA atrocities on Tamil civilians cease-TNA MP

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 December 2005, 11:54 GMT]
Mr.Mavai Senathirajah, Jaffna District Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian speaking during the budget debate in parliament Monday warned the Government not to think of peace negotiations until the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) stops attacks on Tamil civilians in Jaffna district. SLA soldiers are seen in front of every house in Jaffna district and people are living under fear. Under these circumstances no meaningful peace negotiations could be held, said Mr. Senathirajah.
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