Summary of incidents - apart from major clashes - since October 30
In the week to 5 November, 40 people killed, 19 injured and another 16 disappeared across all the districts of the NorthEast. Another 5 people were arrested during this time, mainly by paramilitary cadres working with the Sri Lanka Army.
Of the 36 incidents during the week that resulted in a death, injury or disappearance, Jaffna was the most ‘active’, with 16 incidents reported.
Batticaloa was the most dangerous district during the week, with 32 people impacted by the violence. Most incidents involved ‘disappearances’ with 15 youths abducted by paramilitaries traveling in white vans. Nine people were killed and another 8 injured in violent incidents.
In Jaffna eleven people were killed, one injured and another person disappeared. Another four men were arrested during the week, all by paramilitary cadres working with SLA soldiers.
In Vavuniya, four people were killed and another six injured. In Trincomalee three people died and one was injured. In Amparai, the count was four dead and two injured, while in Mannar, two people were killed. There was also a killing in Colombo.
November 5
● An auto-rickshaw driver from Rajakiramam village in Karaveddy West, Vadamaradchy was shot dead by gunmen. This is the third killing involving youths from Rajakiramam travelling-in or owning auto-rickshaws in the last six months.
Ponnuchamy Ramesh, 30, from Mattakuliya in Colombo, married in the Rajakiramam, and has been driving auto-rickshaw for a living. He is the father of two children.
● Armed men shot dead a shop assistant on a bicycle at Puthukudirrupu, Valaichenai. Selvam Raju, 29, father of one, employed in a Video shop in Valaichenai town, was shot at close range on his head, chest and stomach while going to his house in Kalikovil street in Puthukudirrupu after closing the shop.
● The body of an unidentified male person washed ashore in Talaimannar coast and was buried at government expense. Talaimannar Police removed the body on receipt of information from the public. A post-mortem examination revealed that the person had died due to drowning.
● Thavasi Rasenthini, 29, was shot at her home in Sirupiddy, Valikamam East, by unidentified assailants.
● Alfred Charles, 16, a student from Chunnakam residing with his uncle in Kayts, was shot dead by SLN soldiers. The SLN alleges that a group of youths tried to flee when asked to stop for violating curfew hours. Witnesses said the students were returning after renting a movie from a video rental store in Kayts town.
November 4
● Nadarasa Sivamoorthy, 26, a former member of the LTTE, was abducted from his home at Iluppaikulam by six unidentified persons on Friday night. His body was found with knife injuries. He left the Liberation Tigers in 2000 and had been living in Vavuniya. He is the father of three month old child.
● A former senior member of the paramilitary PLOTE was abducted from his home in Puliyankudal, Kayts, Friday and his body was found with gunshot wounds. Kumaravelu Suthaharan, alias Appan, 33, left PLOTE less than 5 years ago, got married and was living in Puliyankudal in the Jaffna islet when he was killed.
Suthaharan's body was dumped in shrub jungles surrounding the Kaattu Vairavar Temple in Puliyankudal.
Suthaharan was widely believed to be behind the abduction and beheading of a Karaveddy youth, Rajaratnam Rajeswaran, 23, at the PLOTE offices in Nelliady, in 1999. The decapitated body was recovered in from a cess pit behind the office of the PLOTE at at Puthuthottam, Nelliyadi, and the head was recovered inside a drain near Kasturiar Road in Jaffna town. Suthaharan appeared in court proceedings in Point Pedro courts in the murder case, and later absconded, went into hiding, and started a family in Puliyankudal.
● A SLN soldier was killed and another injured when a road clearing patrol was the target of a claymore attack at Allesgarden, Uppuveli, north of Trincomalee town.
● Unidentified persons triggered a claymore device targeting a truck carrying STF troopers and police at Pottuvil, Amparai, killing a police constable and seriously injuring two STF troopers. The dead policeman was identified as T. N. Jayawardne, 35. L. Nanthasri, 33 and U. Ranatunge 38 were the two STF troopers seriously injured in the blast.
● A former worker at the Jaffna offices of the paramilitary EPDP was shot dead by gunmen at her residence in Puttur, Valigamam East. Gunmen who went to the house of Ms Nagamani Rajinithevi, 31, in Puttur North, called her to the front door, shot her at point blank range and escaped.
November 3
● Marimuthu Chandrasegaram from Kilinochchi, 36, was shot dead by unidentified men inside his house at Aachikulam in Samalankulam in northern Vavuniya. He fled Kilinochchi due to military operations and was living at Sithamparapuram Welfare Centre. He later resettled at Samalankulam. He lost his a leg in a mine explosion.
● Four were killed and six injured in a mortar attack launched by the SLA from its Mankerny camp in Batticaloa on Vaharai, a village in LTTE held territory in Batticaloa. The shells launched continuously by the SLA on and around the temporary shelters of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) exploded, causing the IDPs to flee in fear in all directions. Nallathamby Thiyagarajah and his son Thiyagaraja Rajanikanth, 28 were killed while they were riding on a bicycle when the shell fell near them. Nadaraja Anushanthan and Packiyaraja Thileepan, two IDPs from Manalsenai, Trincomalee, were also killed.
● Two SLAF Kfir bombers targeted a Sea Tiger base at Kiranji in Pooneryn, dropping 16 bombs on two different targets. They also attacked Palai later in the morning.
● Sivalingam Krishnan, 39 and a father of five, of Periyamurippu village in Mannar, was shot dead by unidentified persons. His body was found near the suspension bridge along Madhu Road to Kunchukulam Road. Relatives of Krishnan, a fisherman, moved the body from the scene to Periyamurippu village. He had earlier been a member of the LTTE and later left the movement and was living in the village with his family, TamilNet reported. A police team that visited the scene recovered 9 mm bullets.
● Assailants hurled hand grenades at the cadres of the paramilitary EPDP selling the "Thinamurasu", a weekly paper printed by EPDP, in Valaichchenai, Batticaloa, but no one was injured in the attack. SLA soldier and EPDP members beat youths passing through the junction, and searched nearby houses following the attack. Paramilitaries operating with the SLA in the Valaichchenai Fishing Harbor Army camp used to force people travelling in buses, minibuses, motorbikes and bicycles along the Valaichchenai-Kalkudah Road to buy the paper, TamilNet reported.
November 2
● Five members of a family were killed and another person seriously injured when SLAF Kfir jets dropped 16 bombs within 500 meters east of the newly built Kilinochchi General Hospital at Anandapuram (see separate story).
● Yasothiny Narayanamoorthy, 25, from Odai area, Point Pedro was shot dead near Pandaary Amman Temple in Thambachetty, Jaffna. She was riding a bicycle near the Amman Temple when two gunmen followed her in a motorbike, shot her at point blank range and escaped. The "Ellalan Force" claimed responsibility for the killing in a press release issued to the media stating that she was punished because of her involvement in anti- social activities.
● Sivasubramaniam Tharmenthira, 25, was arrested at Fifth street on Brown Road in Jaffna town by SLA troopers.
November 1
● SLAF Kfir bombers bombed civilian settlements in LTTE held Kattumurivu, Batticaloa, nine times. Twelve civilian houses are said to be badly damaged.
● The SLA launched heavy artillery fire and multi-barrel rockets on Vaharai areas from Valaichenai Paper Factory, Karadikulam, and Kadguwatte SLA camps on Panichankerny, Ooriyankaddu, Salithivu, Kandalady, Vaharai and Thadumunai villages in the LTTE controlled territory. SLA soldiers were brought in 10 buses to Mankerny, said residents from Mankerny. The LTTE retaliated by launching mortar fire on Mankerny and Kadguwatte SLA camps.
● SLA troopers on field bikes along with paramilitary cadres in a White van arrested Baskaran Pirathaban, 23, an auto rickshaw owner, at his home at Manipay Road in Inuvil west. Pirathapan's mother, Kamalavathy, 52, was shot and seriously injured by the SLA troopers.
● Nadarasa Narmathan, 20, a technical college student was arrested at home in Chunnakam east by SLA troopers on field bikes and paramilitary cadres in a white van, relatives said in the complaint with SLHRC.
● Sivananthan Sritharan 30, a carpenter of Kerniyady in Kokuvil was arrested by SLA at his house in Kerniyady area.
● Thirugnanasampanthar Ramanan, 23, a recent returnee from Malaysia, disappeared after being last seen undergoing interrogation at the SLA check post at Inuvil when he was on his way to Mallakam. He did not return from the SLA check post and no information is available about his whereabouts, his relatives said.
● Unknown persons triggered a claymore bomb killing one civilian woman, Kovinthasamy Jegathambal and injuring two SLA soldiers and a policeman at Thekankaadu in Vavuniya. The attack was targeted towards a SLA road check-post located 1 km from Vavuniya town. The woman died due to heart attack caused by the blast.
● A pavement trader near Muneeswaram Road, in front of Jaffna Teaching Hospital, was shot dead by gunmen on a motorbike. Local traders said that the killing was carried out by the Sri Lanka security forces as revenge for the killing of another trader near the same spot Monday. The killers escaped after dousing the body of Thiruchelvam Surendrakumar, 34, from Navanthurai, with gasoline and setting it on fire. SLA soldiers stationed about 100 meters from the scene of the incident failed to approach the crime scene after the killing, local witnesses said.
● Two armed men on motorcycle shot dead Thambipillai Atputharanee, 48, a seamstress, in her tailor shop at Manning Place in Wellawatte, Colombo. Atputharanee, originally from Madduvil Jaffna, had been living in Wellawatte for the last 10 years with her 20 year old son.
● SLA soldiers stationed along the coastal belt of Gurunagar fired at 21 fishermen, returning in six boats from LTTE- controlled Pooneryn and adjoining areas. No one of was injured in this attack. The fishermen earlier fled to the LTTE controlled area following the break out of fresh violence between LTTE and Sri Lankan Forces on August 11. SLA soldiers arrested all fishermen when they reached the shore at Gurunagar Jetty and later released after interrogation.
October 31
● Fifteen students of Chenkalady Central College are alleged to have been abducted on by armed men in a white van. The parents of one of the missing have lodged complaints with Eravur Police, the ICRC and SLMM. The abducted youths include G.C.E Advanced Level students, Kugathasan Thusyanthakumar, 18, and Bawa Pratheepan, 19, both of Chenkalady main road. According to the parents of Thusyanthakumar, he and some other students were forcibly taken away.
Many others in the region have complained that a large number of youths are being abducted while they are involved in sports activities after school. Hundreds of abductions have been reported in the recent months in Batticaola, Amparai and Trincomalle district in the Eastern province. Most of the parents or relatives fail to report the abductions due to fear of retribution.
● One trooper was killed and two others from the Mandur Kampikattu Bridge STL in Batticaloa were seriously injured by the LTTE when they responded to an attack by the STF. The STF unit had penetrated and waited in ambush 4 km into LTTE held area from their STF camp. The LTTE cordoned off and searched the area and attacked the STF troopers when they tried to escape. A Buffel Armoured Personnel Carrier was badly damaged.
● A Sinhala home guard was shot dead by gunmen who attacked a checkpost at Neelapola in Trincomalee. SLA soldiers retaliated but the gunmen escaped.
● STF soldiers shot dead two from the political wing of the LTTE when the SLA cordoned off and searched Vinayagapuram in Thirukovil, Amparai. The dead youths were identified as Pavakkannan, 23 and Satha, 25. An LTTE representative said the youths had gone to do political work in the Amparai district. Pothuvil STF said that they recovered one pistol and two hand grenades from the two youths.
● Kattankudy police recovered the body of a youth with gunshot wounds near Puthukudiruppu Ayurveda Medical Centre in their division. An SLA and STF road patrol unit found the body with hands and legs bound and eyes tied. The victim was identified as Ponnambalam Krishnanathan, 25, of Puthukudiruppu Multi-purpose Society Road in Puthukudirippu. Krishnanathan had been abducted by armed men a few days previously.
● A SLA soldier was killed and three others seriously injured when attackers triggered a claymore mine targeting a foot patrol at Rangathgama junction in Poovarasankulam, Vavuniya.
● Joseph Kumar Ramanakumar, 27, a resident of Uppukulam in Mannar, was arrested by the Slave Island Police in Colombo. Ramanakumar had been residing in Wellawatte in Colombo and following a course in English Language.
● Attackers lobbed a grenade into a SLA checkpost close to the public playground in Mannar town while the soldiers were checking a lorry. Tension prevailed in the town and the shops were closed for the day as SLA soldiers detained an old passenger of the lorry. The other persons on board the lorry had fled from the site following the grenade explosion.
● Two armed men riding bicycles shot dead Ramalingam Thavathurai, 47, from Thumpalai, a trader, at his shop near Lourdes Mary Church on the Point Pedro-Thumpalai road in Point-Pedro, Vadamaradchi. The assailants, pretending to be buyers shot the trader and escaped.
October 30
● The SLN fired at a group of fishermen in Mullikulam-Pookulam sea area in Mannar. Fishermen fled to the shore leaving their boats and nets in the sea. No one was injured in the shooting. Some boats left by fishermen in sea had been taken away by the SLN.
● SLA soldiers stationed in camps along Gurunagar, south east of Jaffna town, fired and launched mortar attacks on about 45 Gurunagar fishermen returning to shore in 15 boats from LTTE controlled Pooneryn and Kanjikuda. One boat was destroyed but no one was injured.
Several fishermen from Gurunagar, Pashiyoor, and Mandaitivu, who were at sea when fighting broke out along Jaffna lagoon on 11 August, had sought refuge in LTTE controlled areas on the southern shores of the lagoon as they were unable to return to the Peninsula. With the closure of A9, and as the failure of Geneva-II talks reduced the prospects of A9 reopening in the near future, the fishermen said they took the risk of crossing Jaffna lagoon by boats. SLA soldiers fired at them after they anchored their boats in Mandaitivu and were walking towards Jaffna town waving white flags, the fishermen told TamilNet. The SLA arrested the fishermen for further investigation.
● A civilian was shot dead by gunmen on Muneeswaram Road in the central business area of Jaffna town.
● Gopalasundaram Pathmakalaparan, a member of the Verugal Pradesiya Sabha in Eachilampathu division, Trincomalee, was shot dead by armed men as he was cycling near a bakery, about fifty meters from a Sri Lanka police check point.
● M. Gunaratne, 41, from Monaragala, a father of two and a policeman attached to Pothuvil police station in Amparai district, shot himself in an apparent suicide at the his room near the police station. The reason for Gunaratne's suicide is not known said the police who are investigating the death.
● The bodies of two men, riddled with bullets and hands bound, were found by SLA and STF road patrol troopers in a paddy field along the Pillaiyarady Veethy at Sathurukondan, Batticlaoa. One of the men was identified as belonging to Christhoper Christin, 28, from Church Road in Thannamunai. The body was found 100 m from Sathurukondan SLA camp. The police suspect these two men may have been abducted on Sunday or earlier and shot to death before being dumped in the fields.
● Navaratnam Mahinthan 17, a street vendor was shot dead at Muneeswaram road in Jaffna town. He was from Kaithady east.
● Ramiah Krishnakumar, 38, an auto owner was shot at Temple Road in Nallur. He was from Kalviyankadu, a suburb of Jaffna town and was traveling in an auto-rickshaw when he was shot and killed.
In the week to 5 November, 40 people killed, 19 injured and another 16 disappeared across all the districts of the NorthEast. Another 5 people were arrested during this time, mainly by paramilitary cadres working with the Sri Lanka Army.
Of the 36 incidents during the week that resulted in a death, injury or disappearance, Jaffna was the most ‘active’, with 16 incidents reported.
Batticaloa was the most dangerous district during the week, with 32 people impacted by the violence. Most incidents involved ‘disappearances’ with 15 youths abducted by paramilitaries traveling in white vans. Nine people were killed and another 8 injured in violent incidents.
In Jaffna eleven people were killed, one injured and another person disappeared. Another four men were arrested during the week, all by paramilitary cadres working with SLA soldiers.
In Vavuniya, four people were killed and another six injured. In Trincomalee three people died and one was injured. In Amparai, the count was four dead and two injured, while in Mannar, two people were killed. There was also a killing in Colombo.
November 5
● An auto-rickshaw driver from Rajakiramam village in Karaveddy West, Vadamaradchy was shot dead by gunmen. This is the third killing involving youths from Rajakiramam travelling-in or owning auto-rickshaws in the last six months.
Ponnuchamy Ramesh, 30, from Mattakuliya in Colombo, married in the Rajakiramam, and has been driving auto-rickshaw for a living. He is the father of two children.
● Armed men shot dead a shop assistant on a bicycle at Puthukudirrupu, Valaichenai. Selvam Raju, 29, father of one, employed in a Video shop in Valaichenai town, was shot at close range on his head, chest and stomach while going to his house in Kalikovil street in Puthukudirrupu after closing the shop.
● The body of an unidentified male person washed ashore in Talaimannar coast and was buried at government expense. Talaimannar Police removed the body on receipt of information from the public. A post-mortem examination revealed that the person had died due to drowning.
● Thavasi Rasenthini, 29, was shot at her home in Sirupiddy, Valikamam East, by unidentified assailants.
● Alfred Charles, 16, a student from Chunnakam residing with his uncle in Kayts, was shot dead by SLN soldiers. The SLN alleges that a group of youths tried to flee when asked to stop for violating curfew hours. Witnesses said the students were returning after renting a movie from a video rental store in Kayts town.
November 4
● Nadarasa Sivamoorthy, 26, a former member of the LTTE, was abducted from his home at Iluppaikulam by six unidentified persons on Friday night. His body was found with knife injuries. He left the Liberation Tigers in 2000 and had been living in Vavuniya. He is the father of three month old child.
● A former senior member of the paramilitary PLOTE was abducted from his home in Puliyankudal, Kayts, Friday and his body was found with gunshot wounds. Kumaravelu Suthaharan, alias Appan, 33, left PLOTE less than 5 years ago, got married and was living in Puliyankudal in the Jaffna islet when he was killed.
Suthaharan's body was dumped in shrub jungles surrounding the Kaattu Vairavar Temple in Puliyankudal.
Suthaharan was widely believed to be behind the abduction and beheading of a Karaveddy youth, Rajaratnam Rajeswaran, 23, at the PLOTE offices in Nelliady, in 1999. The decapitated body was recovered in from a cess pit behind the office of the PLOTE at at Puthuthottam, Nelliyadi, and the head was recovered inside a drain near Kasturiar Road in Jaffna town. Suthaharan appeared in court proceedings in Point Pedro courts in the murder case, and later absconded, went into hiding, and started a family in Puliyankudal.
● A SLN soldier was killed and another injured when a road clearing patrol was the target of a claymore attack at Allesgarden, Uppuveli, north of Trincomalee town.
● Unidentified persons triggered a claymore device targeting a truck carrying STF troopers and police at Pottuvil, Amparai, killing a police constable and seriously injuring two STF troopers. The dead policeman was identified as T. N. Jayawardne, 35. L. Nanthasri, 33 and U. Ranatunge 38 were the two STF troopers seriously injured in the blast.
● A former worker at the Jaffna offices of the paramilitary EPDP was shot dead by gunmen at her residence in Puttur, Valigamam East. Gunmen who went to the house of Ms Nagamani Rajinithevi, 31, in Puttur North, called her to the front door, shot her at point blank range and escaped.
November 3
● Marimuthu Chandrasegaram from Kilinochchi, 36, was shot dead by unidentified men inside his house at Aachikulam in Samalankulam in northern Vavuniya. He fled Kilinochchi due to military operations and was living at Sithamparapuram Welfare Centre. He later resettled at Samalankulam. He lost his a leg in a mine explosion.
● Four were killed and six injured in a mortar attack launched by the SLA from its Mankerny camp in Batticaloa on Vaharai, a village in LTTE held territory in Batticaloa. The shells launched continuously by the SLA on and around the temporary shelters of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) exploded, causing the IDPs to flee in fear in all directions. Nallathamby Thiyagarajah and his son Thiyagaraja Rajanikanth, 28 were killed while they were riding on a bicycle when the shell fell near them. Nadaraja Anushanthan and Packiyaraja Thileepan, two IDPs from Manalsenai, Trincomalee, were also killed.
● Two SLAF Kfir bombers targeted a Sea Tiger base at Kiranji in Pooneryn, dropping 16 bombs on two different targets. They also attacked Palai later in the morning.
● Sivalingam Krishnan, 39 and a father of five, of Periyamurippu village in Mannar, was shot dead by unidentified persons. His body was found near the suspension bridge along Madhu Road to Kunchukulam Road. Relatives of Krishnan, a fisherman, moved the body from the scene to Periyamurippu village. He had earlier been a member of the LTTE and later left the movement and was living in the village with his family, TamilNet reported. A police team that visited the scene recovered 9 mm bullets.
● Assailants hurled hand grenades at the cadres of the paramilitary EPDP selling the "Thinamurasu", a weekly paper printed by EPDP, in Valaichchenai, Batticaloa, but no one was injured in the attack. SLA soldier and EPDP members beat youths passing through the junction, and searched nearby houses following the attack. Paramilitaries operating with the SLA in the Valaichchenai Fishing Harbor Army camp used to force people travelling in buses, minibuses, motorbikes and bicycles along the Valaichchenai-Kalkudah Road to buy the paper, TamilNet reported.
November 2
● Five members of a family were killed and another person seriously injured when SLAF Kfir jets dropped 16 bombs within 500 meters east of the newly built Kilinochchi General Hospital at Anandapuram (see separate story).
● Yasothiny Narayanamoorthy, 25, from Odai area, Point Pedro was shot dead near Pandaary Amman Temple in Thambachetty, Jaffna. She was riding a bicycle near the Amman Temple when two gunmen followed her in a motorbike, shot her at point blank range and escaped. The "Ellalan Force" claimed responsibility for the killing in a press release issued to the media stating that she was punished because of her involvement in anti- social activities.
● Sivasubramaniam Tharmenthira, 25, was arrested at Fifth street on Brown Road in Jaffna town by SLA troopers.
November 1
● SLAF Kfir bombers bombed civilian settlements in LTTE held Kattumurivu, Batticaloa, nine times. Twelve civilian houses are said to be badly damaged.
● The SLA launched heavy artillery fire and multi-barrel rockets on Vaharai areas from Valaichenai Paper Factory, Karadikulam, and Kadguwatte SLA camps on Panichankerny, Ooriyankaddu, Salithivu, Kandalady, Vaharai and Thadumunai villages in the LTTE controlled territory. SLA soldiers were brought in 10 buses to Mankerny, said residents from Mankerny. The LTTE retaliated by launching mortar fire on Mankerny and Kadguwatte SLA camps.
● SLA troopers on field bikes along with paramilitary cadres in a White van arrested Baskaran Pirathaban, 23, an auto rickshaw owner, at his home at Manipay Road in Inuvil west. Pirathapan's mother, Kamalavathy, 52, was shot and seriously injured by the SLA troopers.
● Nadarasa Narmathan, 20, a technical college student was arrested at home in Chunnakam east by SLA troopers on field bikes and paramilitary cadres in a white van, relatives said in the complaint with SLHRC.
● Sivananthan Sritharan 30, a carpenter of Kerniyady in Kokuvil was arrested by SLA at his house in Kerniyady area.
● Thirugnanasampanthar Ramanan, 23, a recent returnee from Malaysia, disappeared after being last seen undergoing interrogation at the SLA check post at Inuvil when he was on his way to Mallakam. He did not return from the SLA check post and no information is available about his whereabouts, his relatives said.
● Unknown persons triggered a claymore bomb killing one civilian woman, Kovinthasamy Jegathambal and injuring two SLA soldiers and a policeman at Thekankaadu in Vavuniya. The attack was targeted towards a SLA road check-post located 1 km from Vavuniya town. The woman died due to heart attack caused by the blast.
● A pavement trader near Muneeswaram Road, in front of Jaffna Teaching Hospital, was shot dead by gunmen on a motorbike. Local traders said that the killing was carried out by the Sri Lanka security forces as revenge for the killing of another trader near the same spot Monday. The killers escaped after dousing the body of Thiruchelvam Surendrakumar, 34, from Navanthurai, with gasoline and setting it on fire. SLA soldiers stationed about 100 meters from the scene of the incident failed to approach the crime scene after the killing, local witnesses said.
● Two armed men on motorcycle shot dead Thambipillai Atputharanee, 48, a seamstress, in her tailor shop at Manning Place in Wellawatte, Colombo. Atputharanee, originally from Madduvil Jaffna, had been living in Wellawatte for the last 10 years with her 20 year old son.
● SLA soldiers stationed along the coastal belt of Gurunagar fired at 21 fishermen, returning in six boats from LTTE- controlled Pooneryn and adjoining areas. No one of was injured in this attack. The fishermen earlier fled to the LTTE controlled area following the break out of fresh violence between LTTE and Sri Lankan Forces on August 11. SLA soldiers arrested all fishermen when they reached the shore at Gurunagar Jetty and later released after interrogation.
October 31
● Fifteen students of Chenkalady Central College are alleged to have been abducted on by armed men in a white van. The parents of one of the missing have lodged complaints with Eravur Police, the ICRC and SLMM. The abducted youths include G.C.E Advanced Level students, Kugathasan Thusyanthakumar, 18, and Bawa Pratheepan, 19, both of Chenkalady main road. According to the parents of Thusyanthakumar, he and some other students were forcibly taken away.
Many others in the region have complained that a large number of youths are being abducted while they are involved in sports activities after school. Hundreds of abductions have been reported in the recent months in Batticaola, Amparai and Trincomalle district in the Eastern province. Most of the parents or relatives fail to report the abductions due to fear of retribution.
● One trooper was killed and two others from the Mandur Kampikattu Bridge STL in Batticaloa were seriously injured by the LTTE when they responded to an attack by the STF. The STF unit had penetrated and waited in ambush 4 km into LTTE held area from their STF camp. The LTTE cordoned off and searched the area and attacked the STF troopers when they tried to escape. A Buffel Armoured Personnel Carrier was badly damaged.
● A Sinhala home guard was shot dead by gunmen who attacked a checkpost at Neelapola in Trincomalee. SLA soldiers retaliated but the gunmen escaped.
● STF soldiers shot dead two from the political wing of the LTTE when the SLA cordoned off and searched Vinayagapuram in Thirukovil, Amparai. The dead youths were identified as Pavakkannan, 23 and Satha, 25. An LTTE representative said the youths had gone to do political work in the Amparai district. Pothuvil STF said that they recovered one pistol and two hand grenades from the two youths.
● Kattankudy police recovered the body of a youth with gunshot wounds near Puthukudiruppu Ayurveda Medical Centre in their division. An SLA and STF road patrol unit found the body with hands and legs bound and eyes tied. The victim was identified as Ponnambalam Krishnanathan, 25, of Puthukudiruppu Multi-purpose Society Road in Puthukudirippu. Krishnanathan had been abducted by armed men a few days previously.
● A SLA soldier was killed and three others seriously injured when attackers triggered a claymore mine targeting a foot patrol at Rangathgama junction in Poovarasankulam, Vavuniya.
● Joseph Kumar Ramanakumar, 27, a resident of Uppukulam in Mannar, was arrested by the Slave Island Police in Colombo. Ramanakumar had been residing in Wellawatte in Colombo and following a course in English Language.
● Attackers lobbed a grenade into a SLA checkpost close to the public playground in Mannar town while the soldiers were checking a lorry. Tension prevailed in the town and the shops were closed for the day as SLA soldiers detained an old passenger of the lorry. The other persons on board the lorry had fled from the site following the grenade explosion.
● Two armed men riding bicycles shot dead Ramalingam Thavathurai, 47, from Thumpalai, a trader, at his shop near Lourdes Mary Church on the Point Pedro-Thumpalai road in Point-Pedro, Vadamaradchi. The assailants, pretending to be buyers shot the trader and escaped.
October 30
● The SLN fired at a group of fishermen in Mullikulam-Pookulam sea area in Mannar. Fishermen fled to the shore leaving their boats and nets in the sea. No one was injured in the shooting. Some boats left by fishermen in sea had been taken away by the SLN.
● SLA soldiers stationed in camps along Gurunagar, south east of Jaffna town, fired and launched mortar attacks on about 45 Gurunagar fishermen returning to shore in 15 boats from LTTE controlled Pooneryn and Kanjikuda. One boat was destroyed but no one was injured.
Several fishermen from Gurunagar, Pashiyoor, and Mandaitivu, who were at sea when fighting broke out along Jaffna lagoon on 11 August, had sought refuge in LTTE controlled areas on the southern shores of the lagoon as they were unable to return to the Peninsula. With the closure of A9, and as the failure of Geneva-II talks reduced the prospects of A9 reopening in the near future, the fishermen said they took the risk of crossing Jaffna lagoon by boats. SLA soldiers fired at them after they anchored their boats in Mandaitivu and were walking towards Jaffna town waving white flags, the fishermen told TamilNet. The SLA arrested the fishermen for further investigation.
● A civilian was shot dead by gunmen on Muneeswaram Road in the central business area of Jaffna town.
● Gopalasundaram Pathmakalaparan, a member of the Verugal Pradesiya Sabha in Eachilampathu division, Trincomalee, was shot dead by armed men as he was cycling near a bakery, about fifty meters from a Sri Lanka police check point.
● M. Gunaratne, 41, from Monaragala, a father of two and a policeman attached to Pothuvil police station in Amparai district, shot himself in an apparent suicide at the his room near the police station. The reason for Gunaratne's suicide is not known said the police who are investigating the death.
● The bodies of two men, riddled with bullets and hands bound, were found by SLA and STF road patrol troopers in a paddy field along the Pillaiyarady Veethy at Sathurukondan, Batticlaoa. One of the men was identified as belonging to Christhoper Christin, 28, from Church Road in Thannamunai. The body was found 100 m from Sathurukondan SLA camp. The police suspect these two men may have been abducted on Sunday or earlier and shot to death before being dumped in the fields.
● Navaratnam Mahinthan 17, a street vendor was shot dead at Muneeswaram road in Jaffna town. He was from Kaithady east.
● Ramiah Krishnakumar, 38, an auto owner was shot at Temple Road in Nallur. He was from Kalviyankadu, a suburb of Jaffna town and was traveling in an auto-rickshaw when he was shot and killed.
