Jaffna students protest against SLA artillery barrage on Vanni IDPs

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 January 2009, 08:47 GMT]
All educational and administrative activities of the University of Jaffna came to a complete halt Monday as its students launched their boycott of lectures in protest against the indiscriminate and deadly attacks unleashed by the government of Sri Lanka on the Tamil people in Vanni, sources in Jaffna said. A larger number of policemen and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were deployed in and around the university premises.
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Massacre escapees at Vavuniyaa hospital under strict surveillance

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 January 2009, 04:18 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) opened fire and massacred 7 civilians, including two children of a group of refugees who ended in the hands of the SLA in Murasumoaddai village in Ki'linochchi district on January 10, three days before the mass exodus of civilians towards Puthukkudiyiruppu. On the same day, the SLA blamed the Tigers for the killing of the 7 civilians. However, civilians who have been isolated into various detention camps run by the military, have revealed that the SLA soldiers had opened fire on them.
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Intent of Genocide provable in Sri Lanka - Fein

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 January 2009, 11:54 GMT]
Bruce Fein, former U.S. Deputy Associate Attorney General and currently counsel for the US-based group Tamils Against Genocide, addressing a select gathering of media persons and intellectuals organized by the Max Foundation in Chennai Friday, told the audience that there is enough evidence to criminally convict U.S. citizen Gotabaya Rajapakse and U.S. Green card holder Lt.Gen. Sarath Fonseka in the U.S. Federal Courts for "intent to commit Genocide" in Sri Lanka, sources from Chennai said.
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Ambush kills 3 Sri Lankan soldiers in Batticaloa - LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 January 2009, 04:54 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) officials in East claimed Friday that 3 Sri Lankan military personnel were killed in a Claymore ambush Thursday night around 8:50 while the group of military personnel were on a road patrol along the railway track between Vanthaa'rumooalai and Maavadiveampu.
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LTTE recovers 13 SLA dead bodies in Kallaa'ru front

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 January 2009, 16:43 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) officials Thursday said their defensive formations put up stiff resistance against the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) that attempted to advance through Kallaa'ru in Northwestern front, killing 40 SLA soldiers and causing injuries to 70. The Tigers have claimed that the SLA attempt to advance was thwarted after heavy fighting.
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British FO sabotaging Tamil national question condemned

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 January 2009, 03:13 GMT]
A statement released by the British Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs on Wednesday, totally ignoring the national basis of the decades old Tamil struggle and treating the humanitarian crisis of civilians as an outcome of terrorism is strongly condemned by Jaffna district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian S. Gajendran, who added: The preaching of the modern "corporate religion of greed" to Tamils seems to be "submit yourself to thy genocidal killers."
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IC urged to act on humanitarian grounds to safeguard civilians

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 January 2009, 12:45 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has cornered civilians in overcrowded areas in the suburbs of Puthukkudiyiruppu (PTK) town, according to sources in Vanni. While artillery shells exploding in densely populated makeshift settlements have caused several civilian casualties, civilians are fleeing from indiscriminate bombardment from air and ground are forced to seek shelters throughout the day, civil sources from Vanni said. IDPs' representatives express fear that those who fall into the hands of SLA units are likely to be forcibly transported under close military supervision to detention centre style camps at locations isolated from mainstream communities, as evidenced in Mannaar and in areas north of the recently SLA-occupied Elephant Pass.
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Unidentified gunmen shoot 3 villagers dead in Buttala jungle

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 January 2009, 19:54 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen shot at a group of Sinhala villagers in the Sadatissagama jungle in Buttala Sunday night, killing three and injuring three others, police sources said. One villager is reported missing. A group of eighteen Sinhala villagers went to the jungle to graze their cattle came under the attack, according to police.
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35 SLA killed, 60 wounded in Northwestern frontier - LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 January 2009, 14:47 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) officials Monday said their defensive formations clashed with Sri Lanka Army (SLA) for 24 hours in the Northwestern frontier of LTTE held territory till the SLA was pushed back from Neththaliyaattup paalam Monday. The Tigers claimed 35 SLA soldiers were killed and at least 60 wounded. Heavy fighting is reported also in southeastern frontier of the LTTE held territory.
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Only 1,000 Tigers left, war almost over – Fonseka

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 January 2009, 13:30 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka said Sunday that as there were only a thousand Tamil Tigers left and they were “boxed” into a small jungle area in Mullaitivu, the war would soon be won. The Tigers could not resist the 50,000 SLA soldiers surrounding them, he said. Lt. Gen. Fonseka, who spoke at an annual dinner he hosts for defence correspondents at his residence, joked that he expected most of them "to be out of work by this time next year." He wore a black shirt, adorned with a dragon strangling a tiger, Reuters reported.
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Heavy fighting erupts in Tharmapuram, Tigers say 51 SLA killed

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 January 2009, 17:12 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) media reported Friday that the advance by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) from Tharmapuram on three fronts were repulsed at 14:00 p.m. 51 SLA soldiers were killed and 150 troops sustained injuries in the confrontation that lasted for 14 hours from the early hours of Friday. The Tigers have claimed that they seized weapons in the clearing mission that followed. The Tigers deployed at least one BMP-1 armoured fighting vehicle, according to pictures released to media. It is not clear if the vehicle was captured from the SLA, and when.
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SLA blocks kites on Vadamaraadchi skies

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 January 2009, 02:07 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers in several villages of Vadamaraadchi have been confiscating kites flown by recreation enthusiasts in recent days.
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SLA engaged in vacating civilians from Vadamaraadchi East

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 January 2009, 21:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers advancing from Ezhuthumadduvaa’l in Thenmaraadchi into areas earlier held by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Vadamaraadchi are forcibly vacating permanent residents from their villages, sources in Chaavakachcheari said. 208 persons belonging to nearly 50 families brought to Kodikaamam by the SLA soldiers were handed over to Kodikaamam police who produced them before Chaavakachcheari magistrate Tuesday. Directed by the magistrate the vacated civilians have been placed in Jaffna Government Agent’s (GA) special hostel in Koappaay.
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SLN arrests 200 civilians fleeing from Jaffna to Mullaiththeevu

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 January 2009, 16:00 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) soldiers arrested Monday around 200 civilians fleeing war from Vadamaraadchi East areas earlier held by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to LTTE held Mullaiththeevu district in Vanni, in their fishing boats by sea route, sources in Jaffna said. The arrested civilians have been brought to areas in Jaffna peninsula under control of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and the government officials are facing a critical situation as no prior arrangement has been made to shelter these refugees, sources close to Jaffna Secretariat said. Meanwhile, the Deputy Ambassador for Britain in Colombo made a sudden visit to Jaffna Monday where he met Jaffna Government Agent, K. Ganesh and key SLA officials, the sources added.
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2500 SLA deserters jailed, 4000 to face trial- Prison Commissioner

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 January 2009, 16:17 GMT]
About two thousand deserted soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) are currently serving jail sentence from three months to one year rigorous imprisonment in several prisons in the south of Sri Lanka, sentenced by Military Tribunal after trial. A further four thousand deserted soldiers are in custody, and soon they would be facing inquiry before military tribunal, media reports said quoting Commissioner General of Prisons Major General Vajira Gunawardene.
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3,000 Sri Lankan troops killed in three months, Army to double – newspapers

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 January 2009, 12:37 GMT]
Three thousand Sri Lankan soldiers were killed fighting the Liberation Tigers in the past three months, the Sunday Island newspaper reported this week, quoting government Defence spokesman and Minister Keheliya Rambukwella. He was responding to opposition charges that 15,000 troops had been killed in the battles since October last year. Meanwhile SLA commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka wants to eventually double the size of the SLA to 300,000 soldiers to hold areas captured from the LTTE. A colonel of the SLA’s Air Mobile brigade was killed in a booby trap explosion in the fighting for Elephant Pass last week, the Sunday Times reported.
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SLA soldiers arrest 33 civilians in Pa’lai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 January 2009, 04:18 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers arrested 9 women, 20 men, and 4 children in a search conducted Friday, in a house in Choaranpattu, Pa’lai area, earlier held by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), sources in Jaffna said. SLA handed over the arrestees to Kodikaamam police.
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SLA attempt to advance from Ira'naimadu repulsed: Tigers

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 January 2009, 15:12 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched an offensive push from Ira'naimadu targeting to enter Vaddakkachchi in Ki'linochchi district Saturday. The Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) officials told reporters in Vanni that their defensive forces repulsed the move. 18 SLA soldiers were killed, 40 wounded and the Tigers seized arms and ammunitions in the clearing mission that followed the 8 hours long fighting.
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SLA arrests 4 Tamil civilians in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 January 2009, 20:46 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers took four Tamil civilians into custody Wednesday morning while they were resting in a hut located in a paddy field in Puthukku'lam in Vavuniyaa division on their return home after hunting. These youths are residents of Sasthrikoo'langku'lam and Puthukku'lam.
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Armed robberies escalate in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 January 2009, 11:08 GMT]
Masked armed men robbed three houses, threatening the owners at gunpoint, at Puthukkudiyiruppu in Vaazhaichcheanai police division Thursday night, according to complaints lodged with the police. One of the houses robbed is located 200 m from the office of TMVP Pillayan paramilitary group, on Vaazhaicheanai Maadi Veethi.
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