Bishop pleads for relief aid

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 November 1999, 17:21 GMT]
Rt.Rev.Joseph Rayappu, Bishop of Mannar today afternoon met the Vanni Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Commander Neil Dias and appealed to him to allow government officials to provide relief and other assistance to the displaced residents of Vavuniya, now living in schools and other public buildings at Asikulam,Rasendrakulam and other villages, Tamil sources said.
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SLAF kills fisherman

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 November 1999, 11:10 GMT]
A Tamil fisherman was killed when the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) personnel manning forward defence lines (FDLs) of the Batticaloa Air Port base fired Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) at Eeachanthivu, 6 km. west of Batticaloa town, around 4 a.m. this morning said sources.
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Vavuniya said deserted

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 November 1999, 08:20 GMT]
Vavuniya is almost completely deserted, the last few traders to leave the northern town told TamilNet today when contacted by telephone. They said they would be leaving shortly for safe areas designated by the Liberation Tigers.
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UNP pledges talks with LTTE

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 November 1999, 14:30 GMT]
Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremasinghe said that were the UNP to win the Presidential elections next month, he would, without delay, commence talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who would temporarily administer the Tamil dominated North East province for 2 years, prior to elections being held there.
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Vavuniya residents said leaving

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 November 1999, 10:29 GMT]
Aid workers said today that civilians in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) garrison town of Vavuniya have begun leaving following several broadcasts in Tamil and Sinhala by the Voice of Tigers radio urging civilians to move to safer areas ahead of a possible LTTE offensive. The VoT is designating specific areas for the civilians to move into.
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SLA asks for villagers' support

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 November 1999, 18:43 GMT]
Sinhalese villagers in the Manal Aru (Weli Oye) region are being asked to support the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) resist advances by the Liberation Tigers into the eastern region, said sources in Trincomalee today.
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Vavuniya traders apprehensive

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 November 1999, 18:37 GMT]
After short lull last night, heavy fighting resumed north of Vavuniya this morning and continued through the day, sources in the northern town told TamilNet by telephone today. The sound of continuous explosions rocked the town as the Sri Lanka Army and the Liberation Tigers exchanged artillery fire they said.
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Storm over casualty figures

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 November 1999, 11:54 GMT]
The Sri Lankan President today said that media reports of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) sustaining heavy casualties in recent battles were "grossly exaggerated" and only 101 soldiers have been killed in the past week. However officials from Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party said that the SLA had suffered "terrible losses" of over 1000 killed and accused the government of concealing a "national disaster".
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Tigers say advancing on three fronts

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 November 1999, 17:30 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers said today they had advanced into Sri Lanka Army(SLA) held territory on three fronts in Manal Aru (Weli Oya), Omanthai and Pallamadu areas in the eastern, central and western Vanni respectively. The LTTE said in a statement from its London offices that over 1000 SLA troops and 119 LTTE fighters had been killed so far.
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MSF "deeply concerned" by humanitarian situation

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 November 1999, 16:49 GMT]
The emergency medical aid organization Medecins Sans Frontieres Friday expressed its deep concern about the humanitarian situation in northern Sri Lanka where heavy fighting has been ongoing for almost a week.
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ICRC concern for wounded, prisoners

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 November 1999, 12:03 GMT]
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva today reminded the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Liberation Tigers (LTTE) of their obligation to comply with international humanitarian law. The ICRC press release comes in the wake of a week of heavy fighting in the north of the island.
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Tigers say resume advance

[TamilNet, Sunday, 07 November 1999, 11:31 GMT]
After a brief lull the Liberation Tigers have launched large scale attacks on the Sri Lanka Army positions in Pallamadu and Paalampiddy on the eastern sector of the Mannar District said LTTE sources in London today. They said Omanthai, about 13 km. north of Vavuniya, has also come under heavy artillery attack.
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Soldiers tell of food shortage

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 November 1999, 11:41 GMT]
A large number of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops have fallen back to the government garrison town of Vavuniya, after being routed from the Puliyankulam area, say sources there. Residents said more troops were regularly coming from the war front.
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"Vavuniya exposed" say Tigers

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 November 1999, 11:12 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers said today the strategic Sri Lanka Army (SLA) garrison town of Vavuniya south of the Vanni region was "exposed to LTTE's offensive thrust", as the SLAís defence system in the Vanni region had "collapsed suddenly."
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Government concealing losses - UNP

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 November 1999, 11:03 GMT]
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told TamilNet today that its delegates are making arrangements to hand over 36 bodies of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops and 5 Liberation Tigers to their respective commanders, as opposition politicians accused the Sri Lankan government of concealing losses.
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Deputy Defence Minister in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Thursday, 04 November 1999, 16:29 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Deputy Defence Minister, General Anuruddha Ratwatte visited the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) garrison town of Vavuniya today to discuss with service commanders the situation in the Vanni war front, said sources. Meanwhile the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence (MoD) said SLA troops had "fallen back tactically" from Oddusuddan and Nedunkerni.
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Sri Lanka Army base under attack -LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 04 November 1999, 11:48 GMT]
Heavy fighting is continuing for the third day in the Vanni where the Liberation Tigers have launched a fresh assault on the Karupaddamurippu the LTTE said in a statement from its London office today.
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Heavy casualties in Vanni battle

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 03 November 1999, 15:58 GMT]
Over one thousand SLA soldiers were killed or wounded when the Liberation Tigers overran Nedunkerni and Oddussudan towns, the LTTE said in a statement from its London offices today. The LTTE said 40 of their fighters have been killed so far, and that its offensive was continuing.
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Tigers raise flag at Oddusuddan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 November 1999, 21:55 GMT]
The Voice of Tigers (VoT) radio said this evening that the Liberation Tigers raised the LTTE flag in the newly captured town of Oddusuddan at 12.30 p.m. today, having overrun the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) complex of which the town was a part. Meanwhile LTTE sources in London told TamilNet that fighting continued in jungle areas adjacent to the town.
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Oddusuddan overrun - LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 November 1999, 12:10 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers overran defences of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and captured Oddusuddan town this morning, the LTTE said in a statement from their London offices today.
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