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current affairs in Sri Lanka, specifically related to the ongoing Sri
Lankan Civil War

Killings shock Kaithadi, 8 civilians slain in Jaffna

[Mon, 13 Aug 2007, 10:08 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army operated gunmen in Thenmaraadchi, Jaffna, have shot and
killed seven civilians since Sunday noon. Four civilians, including a
Village Officer (GS) were slain on Monday in Kaithadi where two
civilians were shot dead last wednesday and a gurellia ambush killed
four Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers on Sunday when a youth was also
killed in SLA gunfire. Two civilians were killed in Meesaalai and one
in Vara'ni in Thenmaraadchi on Monday. Meanwhile, a Jaffna Municipal
Council employee, shot in Jaffna city has succumbed to his injuries.
Tension prevails in Kaithadi where armed men also burnt down a house,
according to the residents in the area. Full story >>

Latest 15 Reports:
Aug 13 10:26 Youth shot, seriously injured in Jaffna
Aug 13 10:19 Displaced Uppaaru families to be resettled
Aug 13 10:08 Killings shock Kaithadi, 8 civilians slain in J...
Aug 13 08:06 14 Tamil civilians arrested in Gampaha
Aug 13 05:17 Police arrests Tamil youth in Kandy
Aug 13 02:11 Chandrika Kumaratunge to meet Samaraweera
Aug 12 23:02 Heavy fighting in the seas off Pulmoaddai - LTTE
Aug 12 21:18 LTTE fires mortars towards Weli Oya, says SLA
Aug 12 21:11 Batticaloa youth injured in shooting
Aug 12 17:35 SLA reinstitutes approval procedures to elderly...
Aug 12 17:10 Skirmishes reported in Ariyaalai, Kurunakar seas
Aug 12 17:01 Family man shot dead in Naavaanthu'rai, Jaffna
Aug 12 11:43 Former AG Kamalasabeyson passes away
Aug 12 11:37 Arafa Nagar declared HSZ, Muslim families expelled
Aug 12 08:45 4 SLA killed in Claymore ambush near Jaffna FDL

<< Flashback More Reports >>

2ND LEAD
Heavy fighting in the seas off Pulmoaddai - LTTE

[Sun, 12 Aug 2007, 23:02 GMT]
Three Sri Lanka Navy Fast Attack Crafts (FACs) were damaged and more
than 20 Dvora gunboats were chased away by the Sea Tigers, the naval
force of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE), towards
Trincomalee port Sunday night after a fierce sea battle off Pulmoaddai
that lasted from 10:00 p.m. till 2:30 a.m. Monday, according to Sea
Tiger officials in Vanni. Six Sea Tiger fighters were killed in action
in the battle, the Tigers said. Meanwhile Sri Lankan military sources
claimed that they had sunk a Sea Tiger vessel in the clash. Full story

'Para Demala': a reader's response

[Sun, 12 Aug 2007, 01:58 GMT]
A Sinhala reader of TamilNet has come out with the following note on
our news feature 'Para Demala', dated 06 August 2007. According to
him, the word 'para' is the worst kind of derogatory word in Sinhala,
but is used in the sense to mean alien or foreign. It is not connected
to the Pa'raiyar community. He further adds that even Sinhala-Buddhist
reformers of the calibre of Anagarika Dharmapala had used the phrase
'Para Demala' in a negative sense to mean low-grade aliens. Full story

Youth shot, seriously injured in Jaffna

[Mon, 13 Aug 2007, 10:26 GMT]
Unknown gunmen shot and seriously injured a 30-year old man while
walking along KKS Road in Jaffna town near an autostand at 12:15 p.m.
Monday, sources in Jaffna said. The gunmen sprayed bullets at the
victim and escaped the site. Full story >>

14 Tamil civilians arrested in Gampaha

[Mon, 13 Aug 2007, 08:06 GMT]
Fourteen Tamil civilians were arrested in a cordon and search
operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and police from Sunday
night till Monday early morning in Gampaha town in the western
province. This was the fourth search operation conducted by the
government security forces in Gampaha town during the first 2 weeks of
August, sources said. Full story >>

Chandrika Kumaratunge to meet Samaraweera

[Mon, 13 Aug 2007, 02:11 GMT]
Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge, former President of Sri Lanka for two terms
from 1994 till 2005, returned to Colombo from UK Sunday and is
scheduled to hold talks with Mr.Mangala Samaraweera, leader the
Peoples Wing of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), regarding current
political situation Monday evening at her Horagolla residence, media
sources said. Full story >>

Batticaloa youth injured in shooting

[Sun, 12 Aug 2007, 21:11 GMT]
A lone gunman hiding along a local road in Maamangkam, Kuzhaavaadi in
Batticaloa shot and seriously injured a 16-year old youth Sunday
morning 9:00 a.m, sources in Batticaloa said. The victim was returning
home when he was shot. The killer fled the scene after the shooting,
Batticaloa police said. Full story >>

Skirmishes reported in Ariyaalai, Kurunakar seas

[Sun, 12 Aug 2007, 17:10 GMT]
Residents of villages along the southern coastal of Jaffna report
exchanges of gunfire between Liberation Tigers and Sri Lanka security
forces intermittantly from Saturday night until Sunday morning,
sources in Jaffna said. However, Sri Lanka military did not officially
acknowledge that any incidents occured in the said area. Full story

Former AG Kamalasabeyson passes away

[Sun, 12 Aug 2007, 11:43 GMT]
Mr.K.C.Kamalasabeyson, former Attorney General of Sri Lanka, passed
away in a private nursing home at Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu state
in India, Sunday early morning around 2.30 a.m., after a brief
illness, sources in Colombo said. He was 59. He retired from the post
of Attorney General in April this year. Full story >>

2ND LEAD (CORRECTIONS)
A few devotees attend Maaviddapuram CAR festival

[Sat, 11 Aug 2007, 16:54 GMT]
Only around two thousand devotees entered through Sri Lanka Army (SLA)
checkpoint in Thellippazhai to attend the Thear festival of the
historic Maaviddapuram Kandasamy temple located inside the Valikaamam
north High Security Zone (HSZ). After the SLA offensives in 1990
civilians living close to temple and surrounding areas were evicted,
and in 1999 the area was demarcated to fall within the HSZ, despite
protests from Chaiva organizations. Full story >>

2ND LEAD
4 SLA killed in Claymore ambush near Jaffna FDL

[Sun, 12 Aug 2007, 08:45 GMT]
Four Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and 12 troopers wounded
in a Claymore ambush in Thenmaraadchi in the southwestern Forward
Defence area adjoining Kaithadi Sunday around 1:30 p.m. A youth was
killed when SLA soldiers in the convoy opened fire, after the attack,
Police said. The attackers have targeted the SLA convoy on the
Kaithadi Thachchanthoappu road in a heavily fortified area where two
civilians were shot dead last wednesday allegedly by SLA operated
gunmen. Full story >>

Arafa Nagar declared HSZ, Muslim families expelled

[Sun, 12 Aug 2007, 11:37 GMT]
About two hundred Muslim families were forcibly moved from Arafa
Nagar, a suburb located in Moothoor division in Trincomalee district
by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on Friday evening on the pretext that
their village comes also under the high security zone. Arafa Nagar is
located close to Moothoor east, which is declared a high security zone
by the government after the completion of military operation, civil
society sources said. Full story >>

Displaced Uppaaru families to be resettled

[Mon, 13 Aug 2007, 10:19 GMT]
About five hundred Tamil and Muslim families displaced from Uppaaru, a
village in Kinniya division in Trincomalee district, due to military
operations in 1990 and 1999 and sought refuge in others areas are to
be resettled, Secretariat sources in Kinniya said. Full story >>

Police arrests Tamil youth in Kandy

[Mon, 13 Aug 2007, 05:17 GMT]
A Tamil youth was arrested on Saturday evening for allegedly taking
photograph of a bridge located at the entrance to the Kandy town and
is being detained in Kandy police station and subjected to
interrogation by the Terrorist Intelligence Division, sources said.
Full story >>

LTTE fires mortars towards Weli Oya, says SLA

[Sun, 12 Aug 2007, 21:18 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eeelam (LTTE) fired mortars targetted
towards Wel Oya area in Polllanaruwa district, Sri Lanka Army (SLA)
spokesperson Brigadier Prasanth Samarasinghe said Sunday. The attack
began at 8:00 a.m. Sunday and claimed the life of a 65-year old man
and injured five others, Brig. Samarasinghe said. A number of private
residences are also said to have been damaged during the attack. Full
story >>

SLA reinstitutes approval procedures to elderly Jaffna travellers

[Sun, 12 Aug 2007, 17:35 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) high command in a directive issued Saturday made
compulsary for Jaffna residents who are over 55 years of age, leaving
Jaffna to obtain approval from the civil administrative offices
attached to the closest SLA camp. Previously SLA had exempted those
over-55 and under-10 from the approval process and subjected only the
10-55 age group to the approval process. Full story >>

Family man shot dead in Naavaanthu'rai, Jaffna

[Sun, 12 Aug 2007, 17:01 GMT]
Unidentified gunmen riding a motorbike shot and killed a middle aged
family man Sunday morning at 6:45 a.m. in Naavaanthu'rai within Jaffna
Municipal council area, sources in Jaffna said. Full story >>

Islamic leader shot dead in Ampa'rai

[Sat, 11 Aug 2007, 17:17 GMT]
Armed gunmen, believed to be members of a Muslim armed group, shot and
killed a religious leader, Mawlawi Rafeek, Saturday evening around
7:30 at Ninthavoor in Ampa'rai, Chammaanthu'rai Police said. Full
story >>

One STF soldier killed, six injured in Kagnchikudichchaa'ru

[Sat, 11 Aug 2007, 16:47 GMT]
A Special Task Force (STF) soldier was killed and six others wounded
when a combined team of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops and STF involved
in deep penetration activity in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE)-controlled areas in Kagnchikudichchaa'ru area in Ampaa'rai
District stepped on pressure mines Friday evening, Amparai police
said. Full story >>