7 Tamil civilians arrested in Kohuwela

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 April 2007, 11:01 GMT]
The Dehiwela Police and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers arrested seven plantation Tamils including two women in a sudden cordon and search operation conducted Sunday night at Kohuwela area, a suburb of Colombo. All of the arrested are natives of Nuwara Eliya and Badulla, according to sources in Colombo.
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SLA imposes fishing ban in Vadamarachchy seas

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 April 2007, 05:04 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers extended the temporary ban imposed Saturday indefinitely in Vadamaradchy north affecting more than 4 000 fishing families living along the coastal villages from Valvettiththurai in Vadamarachchy North to Manatkadu in Vadamarachchy East, fisheries sources said.
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10 Tamils arrested in Hambantota

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 April 2007, 10:27 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and Police arrested ten Tamil civilians during a cordon and search operation carried out in Thankalai area in Hambantota district between midnight Sunday and early morning Monday, sources in hill country said.
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Two Tamil youths arrested in Kinniya

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 April 2007, 09:21 GMT]
Two Tamil youths were taken into custody by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in a cordon and search operations conducted at Eechantivu, a Tamil village in Kinniya division in Trincomalee district Friday nigh.
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SLA troopers loot houses, shops IDPs left behind

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 April 2007, 16:32 GMT]
"Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers, paramilitary members and other local Sinhalese persons have looted the houses, shops, temples and co-operative stores in areas invaded by SLA in the Liberation tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held territories in Paduvankarai and Kokadicholai," S. Seeralan, Batticaloa district LTTE Political Wing Deputy head said Saturday. The SLA troopers are routinely stealing the live stocks left behind by the people and killing them for meat, he said.
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Security Forces placed on alert along northern coast

[TamilNet, Saturday, 31 March 2007, 15:12 GMT]
Sri Lanka Security Forces in northern coastal areas from Valvettiturai to Munai near Point Pedro were placed on red-alert after receiving intelligence information that Sea-Tigers were preparing for an attack after infiltrating through the eastern coastal waters Saturday morning, sources in Jaffna said. The anticipated attack didn't happen until atleast late afternoon, residents of northern coastal villages said.
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HRW slams Sri Lanka’s support for Karuna Group

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 March 2007, 11:38 GMT]
Despite promises to investigate abductions of children by the pro-government Karuna group, Sri Lankan authorities have taken no effective action and abductions continue, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Thursday. “The Karuna group’s use of child soldiers with state complicity is more blatant today than ever before, ” Brad Adams, Asia director at HRW said in a statement. HRW also accused the LTTE of recruiting child soldiers. “The Karuna group is doing the government’s dirty work,” Adams said. “It’s time for authorities in Colombo to stop this group from using children in its forces.”
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Six civilians disappear in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 March 2007, 09:23 GMT]
Abductions and disappearances of Tamil persons in Jaffna district by members of Sri Lankan armed forces and allied paramilitaries are continuing unabated amid accusations by the international community at the 4th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council held in Geneva for Sri Lanka's human rights violations against their citizens, civil society sources in Jaffna said. Within 36 hours from Tuesday morning to Wednesday evening, six complaints of abductions were lodged at the Jaffna branch of the Human Rights Commission (HRC).
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Mirusuvil massacre case inquiry resumes

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 March 2007, 11:09 GMT]
The Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar (TAB) inquiry into the Mirusuvil massacre case was fixed for June 25 when it was taken up before the specially constituted three member bench comprising Judges Mr.Upali Abeyaratne (Chairman), Mr.Deepali Wijesundara and Mr.Sunil Rajapakse last Monday, legal sources in Colombo said.
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Youth disappears after interrogation by SLA in Nallur

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 March 2007, 03:41 GMT]
A youth from Navalar Road Jaffna disappeared after being stopped at the Arasady Junction in Nallur for interrogation by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers stationed at the junction, the youth's relatives said in a complaint to the Jaffna Offices of the Human Rights Commission (HRC).
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LTTE Air Strike, no terrorism- SAAG

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 March 2007, 12:16 GMT]
B. Raman, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, South Asia Analysis Group (SAAG) Chennai, says in his analysis: "The TAF's [Tamileelam Air Force's] air strike was well-planned and equally well-executed. It was a night operation taking advantage of the weak capability of the SLAF for night operations. It was a precision attack, which carefully avoided causing any casualty or damage in the international airport, which could have roused international ire. There were no civilian casualties----targeted or collateral. As a result, it would not be possible to characterise the attack as an act of terrorism. It was pure and simple a conventional air strike."
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SLA soldier reported missing in Muttur

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 March 2007, 11:15 GMT]
A soldier of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has been reported missing since Friday in Kinniya, police sources said. He disappeared while travelling with a group of soldiers from Palathoppur military detachment in Muttur division to Upparu in Kinniya division in Trincomalee district. He has been identified R.P.S.R.Wickramasinghe, 24, of Nawalapitya, police sources said.
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Bomb attack kills SLA soldier in Jaffna, civilian wounded in retaliation fire

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 March 2007, 07:34 GMT]
Unidentified attackers lobbed a powerful hand bomb into a Sri Lanka Army checkpost located near the SLA 51-2 Brigade Command in Jaffna city Saturday killing a SLA soldier and wounding four around 10:45 a.m. A civilian was wounded when SLA soldiers opened fire after the attack on the checkpost located along Navalar Road near the railway cross.
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SLA offensive thwarted, civilians saved - LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 March 2007, 18:19 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers who had taken more than 120 civilians as "human shields" against Tiger artillery fire and advanced into Liberation Tigers territory in Vavuniya-Mannar border Friday morning were forced to pull back their soldiers from Thampanai and Sinna Pandivirichchan at around 10:30 p.m after 15 hours of heavy fighting Friday. Liberation Tigers officials said they had defeated the two pronged offensive, without harming the civilians who were in the hands of the SLA. Around 60 SLA soldiers were killed, the Tigers claimed. Official figures from Colombo released Saturday said 14 soldiers were killed and 42 wounded.
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SLA holds Tamil journalist, says RSF

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 March 2007, 15:10 GMT]
Reporters sans frontières (RSF) said in a press release issued Friday that Sri Lanka Army (SLA) was involved in the abduction and disappearance of Subramaniam Ramachandran, a journalist working for Tamil daily, Yarl Thinakural. Ramachandran disppeared on 15 February after being questioned at the Kalikai junction, Vadamaradchy SLA camp, and RSF said his collegeues believe that he is being held in an SLA camp.
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Supreme Court rejects Jaffna youth's FR petition

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 March 2007, 12:06 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court rejected Tuesday a fundamental rights application filed by a Jaffna Tamil youth who is currently being detained in Colombo magazine prison stating that the petitioner has failed to fulfil conditions needed to file such application, legal sources in Colombo said.
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Trader, student disappear in Ariyalai

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 March 2007, 11:26 GMT]
A trader and a student accompanying him have disappered in Pungankulam, Ariyalai, inside the Jaffna Municipal area, after being interrogated by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers Sunday noon, according to complaints made at the offices of Jaffna Human Rights Commission, sources said.
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Allaipiddy case stalls in Kayts Courts

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 March 2007, 17:38 GMT]
The progress in Allaipiddy murder case, where five members of the same family were allegedly massacred by soldiers of the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), has stalled in Kayts District Courts due to lack of co-operation from the Attorney General's (AG's) Department, lawyers associated with the case said. Hearings that were to take place on the 30th of August 2006, were finally held on the 14th March Wednesday, after several postponements due to the break out of violence in August last year.


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19 SLA troopers injured in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 March 2007, 06:55 GMT]
At least 19 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were injured, 4 of them seriously, when SLA troopers and the Liberation Tigers exchanged heavy artillery and rocket fire along the forward defence lines of Thenmaradchi in the Jaffna peninsula from Friday evening. Heavy shelling continued till Saturday morning, sources in Jaffna said.
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SLA arrests three Tamil youths in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 March 2007, 11:28 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Friday morning arrested three Tamil youths travelling in a private bus to Mannar from Vavuniya. Monitors of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) have been informed of the arrest, sources said.


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