145 persons arrested in Puttalam district

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 January 2007, 10:06 GMT]
145 persons were arrested during a combined cordon and search operation by the Sri Lanka Army and Police in Puttalam, Anamaduwa and Vannathivillu in the North Western Province, from Thursday night till dawn of Friday. Majority of arrested are Tamils, sources said.
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Four SLA soldiers killed in Eachchilampathu

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 January 2007, 10:00 GMT]
Four Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and 3 injured in a mortar attack launched by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Friday evening at Eachchilampathu, south of Trincomalee district, military sources in Colombo said.
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"Anyone can join or leave SLFP"-Rajapakse

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 January 2007, 00:27 GMT]
"Every one has the right to join or leave the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). I will not object to any one leaving the party or joining it," said Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse addressing the meetings of SLFP executive committee and all island working committee held Friday at Temple Trees.
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Forty civilians arrested in Wattala

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 January 2007, 18:38 GMT]
In a cordon and search operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Police from Thursday night till early morning Friday in Wattala in Colombo city, forty civilians, majority of them Tamils, were taken in for questioning.
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Protest against curbs on media to be held Tuesday

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 January 2007, 12:57 GMT]
Several Media associations are jointly to hold a public protest in front of the Fort Railway station on Tuesday from 12:30 p.m as part of a campaign for media freedom and safety of journalists in Sri Lanka, a leaflet issued by the joint group said Friday.
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Tiger ambush kills 11 STF personnel in Amparai

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 January 2007, 12:53 GMT]
An elite guerilla unit of the Liberation Tigers in Amparai district carried out an ambush on Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) convoy Friday morning, killing at least 11 Sri Lankan commandos and wounding more than 11 at Bakmitiyawa, 30 km southwest of Amparai town, LTTE Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan told TamilNet.
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SLA shelling on Vaharai hospital triggers exodus

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 January 2007, 06:02 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army stepped up shelling on Vaharai hospital Thursday night forcing 15,000 civilians to flee the Vaharai hospital area. 9000 Tamil civilians, denied basic needs, were forced to flee towards Kajuwatte entry and exit point Friday early morning, according to Vaharai Divisional Secretary, S. Giritharan. 200 tractors with fleeing civilians have reached Kajuwatte. Many women and children were fleeing on foot and bicycles. The only doctor at the hospital, T. Varatharajan, said the civilian IDPs who had sought refuge in the hospital area, were forced to flee as heavy shelling was stepped up during the early hours on Friday. Six civilians were injured Thursday night.
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One SLA trooper killed, two injured in Vadamaradchi

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 January 2007, 19:14 GMT]
Unknown gunmen attacked two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camps, located at Vathiry Road in Udupiddy and David Camp in Navindil area, both in Vadamaradchi, Thursday, injuring two in David camp, sources from Jaffna said. Meanwhile, unconfirmed media reports in Jaffna said that a SLA trooper at Nagarkovil SLA front defence line in Vadamaradchi east was killed in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) artillery attack while SLA sources said one trooper was killed in Tiger sniper fire Thursday evening. It is not known whether both reports referred to the same trooper.
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Subdued Pongu Tamil celebrations held in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 January 2007, 15:25 GMT]
Sixth anniversary celebrations commemorating Pongu Tamil event was celebrated in a simple ceremony held on Wednesday in Jafna university premises near the University library, student union officials in Jaffna campus said..In the function attended by a large number of undergraduates, a number of academics including heads of departments and Deans of the various faculties lit the flame of sacrifice, and placed floral wreaths near the sign board containing Pongu Tamil declaration.
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Remains of Eelanatham Journalist cremated in Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 January 2007, 11:43 GMT]
The event paying final tribute to 'Patriot' Late V. Aruljothinathan, the senior most journalist of Eelanatham Tamil daily, was held at Eelanatham office at Jeyanthinagar in Kilinochchi Wednesday around 2:00 p.m, presided by V. Sudarmani, deputy head of Eelanatham.
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SLA killed pastor in Jaffna, removed identification, says Christian body

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 January 2007, 09:58 GMT]
National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL) Wednesday said that Sri Lanka Army, on 13 Jaunuary, shot and killed Nallathamby Gnanaseelan, the head of Tamil Mission Church in Jaffna and removed the identification documents and the Bible, hiding vital evidence for the identification of the victim, in an attempt to depict the victim as an unidentified attacker.
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Sinhala civilian slain, Tamils threatened in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 January 2007, 07:42 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army troopers and police personnel Thursday morning threatened Tamil civilians at Mathavadikulam, a suburb located 3 km south of Vavuniya town, after a gang shot and killed a Sinhala civilian Wednesday night. The SLA soldiers warned Tamil residents that they would be chased away from the area, residents complained. The killing follows the slaying of 6 Tamil civilians Tuesday night in Vavuniya. Tension prevails in Mathavadikulam and Moonrumurippu.
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SL Appeal Court to decide on CFA inquiry

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 January 2007, 17:19 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Court of Appeal Wednesday fixed the inquiry for 06 March into the petitions by the Sinhala extreme nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party and the Buddhist nationalist all monks Jathika Hela Urumaya seeking the Sri Lanka judiciary to declare that the Ceasefire Agreement, signed on 22 February 2002, is null and void on the basis that it contravened the constitution of the country.
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SLA hands over 7 LTTE bodies to ICRC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 January 2007, 11:35 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army officials handed over 7 dead bodies of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres, killed in Panichchankerni, south of Vaharai, to the ICRC in Valaichenai Wednesday at 2:00 p.m.
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STF commandos leave behind dead paramilitary - Seeralan

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 January 2007, 10:35 GMT]
An elite commando unit of the Special Task Force personnel who penetrated into Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam controlled territory at 39th Colony in Vellavely, 3 km north of Batticaloa Amparai district border, were repulsed in a counter-attack by the Tigers Tuesday evening. The STF commandos, during their retreat, left behind a dead body of a paramilitary cadre with his arms and ammunition, said S. Seeralan, LTTE's Batticaloa district deputy political head.
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Senior journalist passes away in Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 January 2007, 02:05 GMT]
A senior journalist in Vanni, Vallipuram Aruljothinathan, 56, of Kanagapuram, Kilinochchi, passed away at Kilinochchi General Hospital around 3:00 a.m. Tuesday. Mr Aruljothinathan started his career in 1993 at ‘Eelanatham,’ a Tamil newspaper published in Vanni, from the day of the inception of its weekly edition.
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Sivaram murder trial before Sinhala speaking Jury

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 January 2007, 16:38 GMT]
The Colombo High Court Tuesday fixed the inquiry into the murder of political analyst and a senior editor of TamilNet, Sivaram Dharmeratnam, before a Sinhalese speaking Jury. Judge W.A.D.Ratnayake allowed the application made by the sole suspect, an alleged member of an ex-militant turned paramilitary, that he should be tried before a Sinhala speaking jury, legal sources said.
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SLA commander transfers paramilitary personnel in Arayampathy

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 January 2007, 15:57 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army 23-3 Brigade Commander Colonel Subasinghe, in an attempt to calm down the objections from the Muslims who oppose the armed passage of Karuna paramilitary personnel via Kathankudy Muslim town, after the recent violence in Arayampathy Kathankudy border, has transferred a key paramilitary operative and fellow personnel to the camps elsewhere. New paramilitary personnel have been posted the house attached to the STF camp in Arayampathy, according to Muslim representatives in Kaththankudy.
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Sri Lanka steps up offensive on Vaharai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 January 2007, 08:35 GMT]
Heavy casualties were reported in fresh fighting as Sri Lankan armed forces launched a three pronged ground offensive towards Panichchankerni, south of Vaharai, towards Eachilampattu and Uppooral in the north. 12 Tiger fighters were killed and 7 wounded according to LTTE Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan who also claimed more than 40 SLA troopers were killed. Meanwhile Sri Lankan military sources in Colombo claiming to have inflicted a heavy casualty, more than 30, on the Tigers said 4 Sri Lankan troopers were killed, inclduing an officer and 20 wounded.
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SLA shoots dead 2 young men in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 January 2007, 21:41 GMT]
Sri Lankan Army (SLA) soldiers shot dead two young men around 9:30 p.m. Sunday in an ambush in Mavadi Vembu in Eravur Police division in Batticaloa district, sources said.
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