Colombo's refusal to open A9, serious Humanitarian violation - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 September 2006, 12:23 GMT]
Liberation Tigers Political Head S.P. Thamilchelvan Wednesday held discussions with the Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Major General Lars Johan Sølvberg, urging the Head of Mission to clarify the stand of Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) after the refusal by Sri Lanka Army in allowing the truce monitors access the Muhamalai area. Mr. Thamilchelvan questioned the HoM on the cooperation extended by GoSL in restoring normalcy in re-opening the land route and relieve the humanitarian sufferings of 500,000 civilians entrapped in economic embargo and GoSL refusal to open the Jaffna Kandy A9 route. Also other access routes to LTTE controlled areas in the East remain blocked.
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SLA intensifies artillery, MBRL fire on LTTE territory

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 September 2006, 17:50 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) intensified artillery and Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher attacks into Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) territory from Palaly military base and the 52-4 Brigade headquarters in Varani, Thenmaradchi, Tuesday evening around 6:00 p.m. Jaffna district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, S. Kajendran, charged that the SLA is continuing attacks in Nagarkovil and Muhamalai areas to avoid re-opening the A9 landroute to Jaffna.
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Sixty lorries damaged in August Muhamalai battle

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 September 2006, 21:31 GMT]
Nearly sixty lorries belonging to private businesses, trapped at the Muhamalai check point when clashes erupted on August 11 between the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Liberation Tigers, were found damaged beyond repair by the owners when they went to retrieve their vehicles on instructions from the SLA, sources in Jaffna said Friday.


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Clashes erupt at Nagarkovil, SLAF bombs Palai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 September 2006, 09:12 GMT]
Artillery attacks from Sri Lanka Army (SLA) positions towards Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Forward Defence Line in Vadamaradchi East intensified Thursday noon after exchange of mortar and gunfire in Nagarkovil. Earlier, around 10:0 a.m., Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers dropped at least 9 bombs in Pachchilaippalli village in Pallai in Thenmaradchi, destroying at least five civilian houses. Meanwhile, informed military circles in Colombo said some SLA coastal sentries near Nagarkovil camp were destroyed by the Sea Tigers in the fighting that ensued.
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Heavy fighting rages in Muhamalai, Kilali

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 September 2006, 19:01 GMT]
Heavy artillery shelling and fighting between the Sri Lankan forces and the Liberation Tigers erupted in Kilali and Muhamalai Forward Defence Line (FDL) of the Northern Front from 7:30 p.m. Sunday, sources in Kilinochchi said. Artillery shelling and gunfire were continuing Sunday midnight.
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SLA sustains heavy losses in fresh offensive

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 September 2006, 12:48 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s military launched a ground offensive Saturday against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) territory in the northern Jaffna peninsula, after bombarding the area for two days. At least 25 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and around 125 wounded, informed military sources said. Wounded soldiers in more than five busses were rushed to Palaly and airlifted elsewhere for treatment. The artillery attacks ceased around noon as SLA forces were evacuating the wounded troopers.
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Civilians flee SLA offensive in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 September 2006, 23:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched artillery shelling towards Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Forward Defense Line (FDL) in Thenmaradchi Wednesday morning. The artillery attacks have been continuing for 48 hours and have forced hundreds of families to flee from Mirusuvil Educated Women’s Scheme and Usan areas, civil society sources in Jaffna said.
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‘Our people are suffering’: St. Patrick’s Rector

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 September 2006, 11:31 GMT]
Saying food supplies were “urgently” needed in the Jaffna peninsula, the Rector of St. Patrick’s College this week called for the A9 highway to be opened and military restrictions on fishing to be lifted. Fr. Justin B Gnanapragasam also called for the military’s curfew in Jaffna to be lifted or at least confined to night time. “Our people are suffering immensely. Please keep them in your prayers,” he said in a letter to past pupils. Five thousand displaced people who sought shelter in St. Patrick’s are refusing to leave, disrupting classes which should have resumed by now, he said.
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650 civilians caught in military travel arrangement

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 September 2006, 09:17 GMT]
Around 650 civilians, out of 7000 persons, who rushed to Sinhala Mahavidyalayam site in Jaffna Friday, following announcement by the civil authorities of the Sri Lankan government in local media that a travel arrangement was made for 650 persons to be selected on a first priority basis, are being held inside buses without notifying the travellers on the mode of travel. Meanwhile, NGO sources in Jaffna expressed fear that Sri Lanka Navy was about to use the civilians as human shields to undertake a ship movement from Kankesanthurai.
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LTTE seeks road supply to Jaffna civilians

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 August 2006, 14:16 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers are ready to allow food and medicine for the civilians in Jaffna to be transported by road through the Vanni, to ease the difficulties of the population there, LTTE officials told the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Wednesday. Agreement on the use of a sea route to the peninsula is proving problematic as the Sri Lanka military is seeking to resupply its garrison there under the guise of aid for civilians, LTTE officials said.
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6 SLA troopers killed, 4 wounded in Thenmaradchi

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 August 2006, 09:36 GMT]
Six Sri Lanka Army troopers were killed in a bomb explosion between Eluthumadduval and Muhamalai Saturday around 11:00 a.m. SLA sources said. The SLA troopers were on a road clearing mission when the explosion occurred. Four troopers, wounded in the explosion were rushed to Karainagar Sri Lanka Navy hospital, military sources said.
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Fresh SLA offensive move from Muhamalai thwarted - LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 August 2006, 07:30 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers two-pronged fresh move to take on Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) FDL positions in Muhamalai area, Friday morning, amid bombing by Kfir jets, artillery fire and Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) fire directed towards LTTE territory in the Northern Front, was thwarted by the Tigers, LTTE sources in Kilinochchi said. The Kfir bombers also dropped bombs in Mullaithivu Friday.
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53 Division bears brunt of war

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 August 2006, 12:10 GMT]
Amid continuing heavy fighting in the northern Jaffna peninsula, hundreds of wounded Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers have been brought to hospitals in and around Colombo, with hundreds more awaiting transfer from Anuradhapura, medical sources in the capital said Saturday. While the government officially says 106 soldiers have been killed in a week of fighting, defence sources in Colombo said Friday the bodies of more than 400 soldiers had been brought to the south. They said the majority of the casualties have been borne by the SLA’s elite 53 Division.
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SLA fresh offensive thwarted - LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 August 2006, 14:29 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers on Friday launched an offensive through Kandalkadu area, located between Nagarkovil Forward Defence Line (FDL) and Muhamalai FDL, inside the Liberaton Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled territory, LTTE military spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan told media in Kilinochchi.
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SLA denies medical treatment to Jaffna injured civilians

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 August 2006, 03:43 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Army (SLA) blocked attempts by the Government Agent (GA) of Jaffna District, K.Ganesh, to transport injured civilians in Thenmaradchi and in the Islands to the hospitals, and remove the dead bodies from the area, Jaffna Secretariat sources said.
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Heavy fighting breaks out in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 August 2006, 18:25 GMT]
Explosions were heard inside Palaly airbase Wednesday night and heavy fighting was reported at many points of Forward Defence Line (FDL) positions in Jaffna from 6:00 p.m. Flares to illuminate the night sky were seen above the Palaly military base area, and Tiger artillery shells began hitting the base Wednesday night after the explosions ceased, according to initial civilian reports.
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SLA closing down small camps in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 August 2006, 18:48 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers are closing down several small camp-houses in the Jaffna peninsula and withdrawing into stronger camps Monday, sources in the northern peninsula said.
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Tiger marines conclude pre-emptive strike on Mandaithivu - LTTE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 August 2006, 13:56 GMT]
Marine Corps of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Saturday midnight destroyed the artillery launch pad in Mandaithivu, and Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and Sri Lanka Army's (SLA) preparations to launch a seaborne offensive towards Elephant Pass, LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasaiah Iltanthiryan told media Sunday. Two Sri Lanka Army tanks were destroyed within the last 48 hours, along A9 between Mirusuvil and Muhamalai, where severe clashes took place. Small clashes were still continuing, he said. Tiger marines returned to their positions from Mandaithivu Sunday early morning, according to LTTE military spokesman.
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Sri Lanka says "talks offer" as fighting continues

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 August 2006, 08:11 GMT]
As heavy fighting continued between the Liberation Tigers and Sri Lanka’s military in the northern Jaffna peninsula, the government in Colombo claimed Sunday to have received on Friday an offer of talks from the LTTE and that it was accepting it. The government announcement came as press reports said the military’s air bridge to the Jaffna peninsula had been cut as the Palaly airbase continued to remain under LTTE artillery fire. The sea lines to Jaffna were also being disrupted by LTTE shelling of Trincomalee port.
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8 pilgrims killed in Muhamalai, 4 survive, fate of 37 not known

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 August 2006, 14:56 GMT]
Seven Jaffna civilians returning from a religious pilgrimage to Kathirgamam Hindu Temple were killed by artillery fired by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops retreating north from the Muhamalai checkpost, civil society sources in Jaffna said. The SLA had blocked a bus with 48 civilian pilgrims returning from Kathirgamam to Jaffna Friday evening. Four of the passengers survived artillery and gunfire attacks by the SLA troops while withdrawing from their checkposts. The injured were rescued by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres Saturday. Fate of the others is not known.
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