The Sri Lankan military declared it was launching a search operation in Jaffna this morning, stating it was seeking to arrest a group of “young suspects” in Point Pedro following an alleged clash with soldiers.
In an official statement released online, the Sri Lankan military claimed a “clash” occurred “between some youngsters and a group of soldiers on mobile patrol”.
The military claimed that soldiers were helping a man “lying on the road, apparently under the influence of liquor” when “curious civilians in the area had begun to gather” leading to a “melee”. It then alleges that a group of youth “stormed the spot and started disrupting duties of the mobile patrol”.
The latest operation by the military comes after the army conducted multiple search operations in Jaffna just days ago. Several Tamils have also been arrested in recent months. Military surveillance and intimidation continues to be pervasive across the Tamil North-East where tens of thousands of occupying Sri Lankan soldiers have been deployed.
