MULLAITTIVU: DURING search and clear operations conducted in the general areas in the north of MULLAYAVALAI and VISUAMADU on Wednesday (15) troops recovered a trail of a 130 mm artillery gun, two I-com sets, one heavy weapon barrel, twenty seven hand grenades, eight Arul bombs and seven Rocket Propeller Grenades (RPG) .
PRESIDENT Mahinda Rajapaksa made history, barely two days after the Sinhala and Hindu New Year celebrations, to become the first ever President to visit Kilinochchi in the post-independent Sri Lanka after ejecting terrorists from the soil of Kilinochchi. On the arrival at the proposed new hospital complex in the heart of Kilinochchi town Thursday (16) morning, the President and his entourage were received by Defence Secretary Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Chief of Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Donald Perera, Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka, Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, Commander of the....
IT WILL NOT BE WRONG to say that Kilinochchi has received two New Year gifts in just four months. On January 2, 2009, Security Forces regained Kilinochchi, heralding a new era for this major Northern city that was dominated by the LTTE for around two decades. Kilinochchi was their administrative hub after the fall of Jaffna. It is where they had the so-called LTTE Peace Secretariat, the Voice of Tigers Radio and several other military and administrative buildings. It is where the Tiger leaders met visiting foreign dignitaries during the flawed ceasefire period. Yet, this was a facade. The people of Kilinochchi suffered under the tyranny of the LTTE, which ironically claimed to ‘liberate’ all Tamils.
MULLAITTIVU: ONE HUNDRED and one more civilians from un-cleared areas in the “No Fire Zone” managed to flee and surrendered to the troops seeking protection for their lives during Thursday (16). Ninety-three of them arrived in PUTHUMATALAN area and the remaining eight reached MULLIKULAM and CHALAI areas. There were forty-one males, twenty-one females, twenty-three boys and sixteen girls among those who arrived there. All of them were conducted to the nearest centres for temporary housing.
RON REDMOND, spokesman for the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR yesterday called on the Tamil Tigers to 'immediately allow' civilians to move to safe areas. Redmond said more than 63,000 people have fled since the fighting began, and that his agency was stepping up its emergency response to meet the needs of the displaced. The United Nations yesterday renewed its call for a pause in fighting between Tigers and troops in order to allow civilians trapped by the conflict to flee.
THE GOVERNMENT is not prepared to give into International and domestic pressures and abandon the on going operations to free thousands of innocent civilians taken hostage by the ruthless terrorist Prabhakaran, Defence Spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said yesterday in Kandy. He said the Government has the biggest responsibility to free these civilians than any other Government or State and the best effort is currently being made to fulfil this responsibility by the Government. “No one will be allowed to breath life into the dying LTTE and no amount of pressure could deviate the Government from its current stance,” Rambukwella assured commenting ....
THERE SEEMS to be less civilians getting out during the [New Year] pause than before. So it is clear that LTTE did not allow those who wished to leave even if they wished to leave the area during this pause to do so, they seemed to be actively prevented from doing so, perhaps more actively prevented from doing so during this pause, so that is a matter for great regret,” said UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Sir John Holmes, at a briefing on the situation in Sri Lanka at the UN, New York, April 15. “We believe they should be allowing people, encouraging people to leave the no fire zone.
MULLAITTIVU: TROOPS on search and clear operations in the general area of KOKKUTHUDUWAI, MULLAITTIVU Friday (17) evening recovered a decomposed dead LTTE terrorist, one LTTE motor bike and fifty rounds of Multi Purpose Machine Gun (MPMG) ammunitions. Meanwhile, Army troops in PUTHUMATHALAN and KARIYALWAL also recovered eight claymore mines,...
