Priests, public demand release of Allaippiddy Parish Priest

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 August 2006, 09:46 GMT]
A token hunger strike and a special Mass were held Monday from 9.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. at the St. Theresa's Church, Kilinochchi, demanding the release of Allaippiddy Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Jim Brown and his aide Venseslos Vincent Vimalathas who were abducted by the Sri Lanka Forces in Allaippiddy in Jaffna District on 20 August and condemning the killings of Tamil civilians by the Sri Lanka Forces.


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WFP says food situation ‘critical’ - amid MoD embargo

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 August 2006, 06:34 GMT]
The food situation in LTTE-controlled areas is becoming ‘critical’ the World Food Program (WFP) announced Friday, as Sri Lanka’s Defence Ministry maintained its blockade. “In spite of high-level negotiations between the UN and the Government, the issue of access to areas not under Government control has not been resolved,” the WFP said. WFP said its staff “are [still] operating inside both the Vanni and Jaffna, but all supplies are running low in these areas due to the closing of the access roads by the Ministry of Defence.”
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LTTE releases Sri Lankan Policeman

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 August 2006, 11:50 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers on Saturday handed over the Sri Lankan Policeman, B.W.Bopetigoda, who was held in LTTE custody since October 2005. The realease was made following a request for goodwill-gesture from the outgoing Head of SLMM Major General Ulf Henricsson, LTTE sources in Kilinochchi said.
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LTTE to release Sri Lankan policeman

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 August 2006, 16:08 GMT]
The leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), on Friday, decided to release the third Sri Lankan Policeman held in custody since October 2005. The decision was made following a request for goodwill-gesture from the outgoing Head of SLMM Major General Ulf Henricsson, LTTE sources in Kilinochchi said.
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Thamilchelvan thanks Nordic EU Members

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 August 2006, 13:37 GMT]
The outgoing Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission Major General Ulf Henricsson and the newly appointed Acting Head of Mission, Major General Lars Johan Sølvberg, met Liberation Tigers Political Head Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan in Kilinochchi Friday evening. Mr. Thamilchelvan, on behalf of the LTTE leadership, thanked Maj. Gen. Ulf Henricsson for his courageous and determined efforts, at the risk of his own safety, to resolve the Maavilaru dispute and thanked the truce monitors of Nordic EU Member States for their "four and a half year profound service."
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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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Patients not allowed through Omanthai checkpoint to Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 August 2006, 12:26 GMT]
Seven patients including four children, two pregnant women and an old man sent in an ambulance by Kilinochchi general hospital for emergency treatment in Vavuniya general hospital on August 20 were not allowed to enter government controlled territory through Omanthai SLA checkpoint. SLA soldiers sent them back to Killinochchi hospital, civil sources said.
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SL parliament to debate North East situation

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 August 2006, 06:50 GMT]
A special debate on the volatile situation in the North East province is to be held in Sri Lanka's Parliament Wednesday. Leaders of political parties represented in parliament Tuesday agreed to the request by Mr.R.Sampanthan, parliamentary group leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), parliamentary sources said.
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Civilians cross open lines-ICRC

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 August 2006, 13:21 GMT]
Since Monday, the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) facilitated a convoy of civilians going from Killinochchi to Vavuniya. The convoy consisted 243 persons, including 61 foreign citizens and 182 Sri Lankan nationals, said the press release of the ICRC Tuesday
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CHC provides emergency medical treatment for Wanni displaced

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 August 2006, 10:24 GMT]
Centre for Health Care (CHC) mobile medical team, on Saturday and Sunday conducted emergency medical clinics for the recent internally displaced civilians at the Punnaineeravi Mahavidyalayam and Udayarkaddu Mahavidyalayam, in Kilinochchi said health care workers.


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Jaffna bound civilians stranded in Vavuniya for 11 days

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 August 2006, 09:31 GMT]
More than five hundred Tamil civilians bound for Jaffna district stranded in Vavuniya for the last eleven days Monday morning gathered in the Vavuniya district secretariat urging the civil authorities to take steps to send them to the peninsula.
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"Let civilians flee, allow relief through" - UNHCR

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 August 2006, 13:36 GMT]
"Some 15,000 to 20,000 people are now displaced in the Killinochchi area as a result of repeated [Sri Lankan] artillery shelling and air strikes," the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said this week. Calling on the Colombo government and the Liberation Tigers "to urgently allow aid workers free access to all parts of the island so that vital supplies can reach those cut off by fighting," UNHCR appealed for them "to permit freedom of movement to all civilians displaced by their conflict." Since April UNHCR says 162,000 people have become internally displaced, while 7,439 have become refugees in Tamil Nadu.
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Colombo aggravates humanitarian crisis in NorthEast – NGO forum head

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 August 2006, 15:32 GMT]
Head of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) forum in Kilinochchi, Mr Ganesapillai, speaking at a press conference Wednesday accused the Sri Lankan government of deliberately blocking food and other supplies to civilians living in Vanni and Jaffna. "The Sri Lankan Army (SLA) is not allowing supply vehicles to pass through the check posts located at the entry points to the Vanni region. Governments agents for Jaffna, Kilinochchi, and Mullaitivu have requested the GOSL to instruct the SLA to open the roads so that all supplies can pass through to civilians in Vanni and Jaffna but the Colombo Government has been withholding issueing such directive," said Mr.Ganesapillai.
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Vallipunam organisors urge UNICEF to ensure safe learning environment

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 August 2006, 06:13 GMT]
General Secretaries of Principals Association in Mullaithivu District and Kandavalai (Kilinochchi), representing the organisors of the Vallipunam residential training for schoolgirls, handed over an appeal on Friday to Ms. Penny Brune, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) representative in Kilinochchi, urging the International Community to take immediate steps to stop Sri Lankan armed forces attacks on Tamil educational institutions.
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Thousand civilians enter LTTE held Vanni region

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 August 2006, 15:48 GMT]
Stranded Tamil civilians in Vavuniya town for about six days were allowed to travel through Omanthai check point to the LTTE held districts of Killinochchi, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya North division in the Vavuniya district Friday. The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) reopened the Vavuniya-Omanthai check point Friday afternoon around 2.30 p.m for limited hours due to combined effort taken by Mr.Kishore Sivanathan, Vanni district parliamentarian and officials of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and Vavuniya district secretariat.
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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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SLAF bombers destroy tsunami-boat yard

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 August 2006, 14:22 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers bombed and destroyed a boat yard, at Nellian in the Vadamaradchi East, around noon, Friday . The boat yard was built in February 2005 under 'Back to Sea' project, a Post Tsunami Rapid Rehabilitation Development Service, to help fishermen affected by 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. Two workers were wounded in the attack. The boat yard was funded by the Norwegian and Malaysian branches of Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO).
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Sencholai air-strike killed 55, details released

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 August 2006, 09:25 GMT]
Director of Education for Kilinochchi district, T Kurukularaja, and Director of Education for Mullaitivu district, P Ariyaradnam, have informed their respective Government Agents the details of the 55 victims killed in the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombing on Sencholai campus in Vallipunam Monday.
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Kfir jets fly over Vanni

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 August 2006, 08:02 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir jets were observed at high altitude over Kilinochchi around 1:00 p.m. Friday.
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Stranded Tamil civilians in Vavuniya demand opening of A9 highway

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 August 2006, 12:30 GMT]
About six hundred Tamil civilians stranded in Vavuniya due to the closure of Vavuniya-Omanthai Sri Lanka Army (SLA) check point Thursday morning held a protest in front of the office of the Vavuniya District Secretariat demanding that they should be sent to their villages and towns in the districts of Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Killinochchi, sources said.
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