11 February
● Police in Valikamam East recovered the bodies of two men with gunshot wounds and torture marks. Chelliah Mylvaganam, 53, and Navaratnam Arultheepan, 27, were abducted from their homes in Siruppiddy by armed men driving a white van half an hour before being killed.
● Sri Lanka Government forces in a cordon and search operation arrested three upcountry Tamil youths, Madavan Naguleswaran, Madavan Maheswaran and Uthayakumar of Hatton, who were waiting at Kandy railway station to travel to Colombo.
● About forty-five persons were taken into custody by the police in cordon and search operations in Chilaw. Although the ethnicity of the arrested were not fully revealed, residents in Chilaw said only some of the arrested are Tamil. Many of the arrested were accused of engaging in criminal activities in the area.
● In Mylankadu, Chunnakam, Jaffna, armed men in a white van abducted Nagalingam Yoganathan, 45, father of three.
● Rajalingam Suresh, 19, was abducted from his residence in Mulli Road, Ariyalai Jaffna, by men in a white van.
● Armed persons shot dead N. Gunadasa near Vipulananda School in Pandarikulam, Vavuniya, after hiring his auto.
10 February
● Armed men shot dead a trader at Aiyankerny in Eravur, Batticaloa. The killers called Maheswaran Uthayasekaran, 32, of Kommanthurai, a father of two, out of his house as he was having dinner saying they wanted to buy a phone card and shot him. He was rushed to hospital where he succumbed to his wounds.
09 February
● The train service between Dematagoda and Maradana in Colombo was halted for several hours following a tip off that an anonymous parcel was lying on the track between the stations. The SLA bomb disposal squad rushed to the site and stopped all public movements in the area. Railway authorities were warned not to allow trains on the track till the investigations were over. On examination security forces found no explosive in the parcel – only some pieces of paper.
● Sri Lanka Government forces arrested 11 Tamil civilians during cordon and search operations in Munthal, Uddapu and Munneswaram areas in Chilaw. The detainees are from Killinochchi, Jaffna, Vavuniya and Mullaitivu in the Tamil dominated northeast province. Police said they were taken into custody as they failed to produce legal documents to prove their identity and credible reasons for their stay in the locality.
● Two SLA soldiers were injured when gunmen fired at a foot patrol in Nellukulam, Vavuniya. Sri Lanka Military high command strengthened security and increased the number of road patrols amidst escalating violence in Vavuniya district.
● A Tamil youth, who recently returned from working abroad, was shot dead in Madduvil North, Thenmaradchi, Jaffna. Gunmen stopped Rasaratnam Pushparajah, 30, from Musiri in Madduvil North, as he was riding his motorbike, shot him dead at point blank range, and absconded on his bike, which they abandoned a few kilometres away. Police found five gunshot wounds on Pushparajah's body.
● Gunmen shot dead a teacher in Pattanichchur Puliyankulam, Vavuniya, making him the sixth person to be killed by armed men in Vavuniya in February. Thambirajah Thileepan, 40, was a teacher at the Vavuniya Poonthottam Government Mixed School. Of the six victims killed by armed men in Vavuniya this month, four were identified as civilians, one was a SLA officer, and the last was a home-guard.
● Pulmoddai police recovered the body of Sinniah Palaniappan, 59, along the beach in Pulmoddai village, Trincomalee. There were injuries on the body but the exact cause of death was not revealed.
08 February
● Several SLA troopers were feared killed in a claymore attack on a bus carrying soldiers along Palaly Road, Jaffna, less than 50 meters from Urelu SLA camp. Palaly military command did not release official details on the attack. The damaged bus, belonging to the Ceylon Transport Board, was taken inside Urelu camp, which is a key SLA camp and serves as the main camp of the SLA intelligence wing.
● A husband and wife, parents of two children, were shot dead in Maharambaikkulam, Vavuniya. Aarumukam Sakthivelai, 47, and his wife, Maheswaray Sakthivelai, 42, were shot in the early hours while they were sleeping.
● Seven STF troopers and three civilians were injured in a mortar attack from LTTE held areas on the Vavunathivu SLA camp. The SLA fired mortars in retaliation. A new STF camp is being constructed near the current SLA camp.
● Armed men abducted a fisherman at Santhiveli, Eravur, and shot him dead later in the day near his house. Myilvaganam Ravichandran, 33, is the neighbour of a Hindu priest, Chelliah Parameshwara Kurrukal, shot dead the previous day, allegedly by armed men attached to SLA military intelligence.
● Three civilians, fearing threat to their lives from Sri Lankan armed forces and allied paramilitaries, took refuge with the Jaffna SLHRC, who handed them over to the Jaffna prison officials to be kept in protective custody. Prison officials have warned of a possible humanitarian crisis in the prison as youths seeking protection, and criminals are kept in the same facility. Jaffna prison, which is already in a deplorable condition without adequate facilities, will struggle to accommodate any additional youths, prison officials said.
07 February
● SLA troopers lying in ambush along an interior road in Thatchanthoppu Pillayar temple area at Karaveddy, Vadamaradchi, Jaffna, opened fire on a youth, killing him on the spot. However, military reports from Colombo said the SLA killed a youth who had attempted to hurl a hand grenade at the troopers.
● Armed paramilitaries visited the house of Kiddinan Kirushnarasa, 34, a civilian in Paththini Amman Kovilady, Valvettiththurai, Vadamaradchy, and forcibly took him away.
● A shell exploded near the Navalar Community Development Centre in Velanai, on the island of Kayts off the Jaffna peninsula, forcing the villagers to scatter in panic. No one was injured in the explosion, but some nearby buildings sustained minor damage.
● Ramachandran Jeyachandran, 33, an auto-rickshaw driver and father of two, was shot dead at Kooman kulam, Vavuniya. Jeyachandran had previously lost a leg during the war.
● SLA troopers of a field motorcycle unit opened fire on a young farmer at Mirusuvil in Thenmaradchi, Jaffna. Kurnaathy Muhunthan, 24, of Kudavian, Varani, was seriously injured in the shooting.
● SLN marines shot and seriously injured a man driving a tractor in Ward 4, Velanai east, Jaffna, allegedly for not giving way to SLN marines on a motorcycle behind the tractor. The SLN, however, said that the firing was a warning shot and was not intended to harm Kailayapillai Balachandran, 47.
● A Hindu priest, who had been forcefully taken to Vaharai from Santhiveli by the SLA to garland Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse during his visit to Vaharai on February 3, was shot and killed by armed men allegedly attached to SLA military intelligence. Chelliah Parameshwara Kurukkal, a father of three, was shot near his house, a few meters from the Santhiveli SLA camp. He had been taken to Vaharai by the military under the pretext of performing a pooja and made to garland the visiting president. Santhiveli residents alleged that the priest, who was unhappy over the forced pooja in Vaharai, has been victimized by the military intelligence. Dignitaries of all faiths have been forced to be present at the opening ceremonies of various paramilitary offices in Batticaloa and Amparai during recent months.
● The body of an unidentified male was found washed ashore in the Salaipaiaru seacoast in Kuchchaveli, Trincomalee.
● Six Tamil youths were arrested in Dankotuwa in a cordon and search operation by the Sri Lankan forces. All were employed in a bakery and are natives of upcountry and eastern province. Police said they were taken into custody as they failed to prove their identity and the reason for staying in the area.
06 February
● A hand grenade explosion in Colombo wounded 18 at an exhibition when a STF trooper was demonstrating how to use the devise. Two STF personnel, 2 Buddhist monks, 4 females and 2 children were among the injured at the military exhibition at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall. Colombo police said the explosion, which took place inside a STF exhibition stall, was accidental. The exhibition was organised by the government to mark Sri Lanka’s 59th Independence Day.
● SLAF MI-12 helicopters fired rockets in Kadawanaikulam and Morawewa areas of Trincomalee for more than 30 minutes. Military sources in Colombo claimed the attack was aimed at a concentration of LTTE cadres in Kadawanaikulam, close to Kalmuttiyankulam reservoir where a SLN camp is located. The town is also close to Morawewa where a SLAF camp is located.
● Armed men shot dead two youths in Kankeyan Odai area, Kathankudy, Batticaloa. Preliminary police investigations revealed that Kirupairatnam Sathurik, 24 and Sivaramalingam Govintharaj, 23 had been abducted and killed.
● Armed men abducted a married man from Kuruchi Four Tamil village in Eravur, Batticaloa. Veerapan Uthayakumar, 36, a father of two, is a native of Hatton who had been a resident of Kurichi Four Tamil village for six years. He was abducted on his way to the shop from his home.
● Armed persons, who identified themselves as SLA soldiers, took Sinnaththurai Vijayaruban, 23, of Kadduvan Road, Mallakam in Valikamam, for questioning in the presence of his parents. Vijayaruban's whereabouts are unknown.
● Unidentified men abducted Louis Moraes Satkunanathan, 59, retired Grama Sevaka Officer and father of three from Sinnakadai in Mannar town, with his motorbike as he was going along Mannar-Talaimannar main road to supervise construction work he had undertaken in Talaimannar.
● Anestine Kathirkumar, 31, and Christie Balendran Croos, 29, were abducted when they were returning home on motorbike on Mannar-Talaimannar main road after buying provisions at Mannar bazaar. The two fishermen are residents of Pesalai.
05 February
● Three Sinhala friends, all leftist journalists or activists were abducted in Colombo. Leftist activists have alleged that the three friends were kidnapped by an abduction squad operated by the Sri Lankan military.
● A SLA officer was killed and a trooper injured when armed persons attacked a road patrol unit at Pandarikulam road in Vepankulam, Vavuniya. The body of the officer, Captain Dammika Kumara, was taken to hospital and then the SLA camp, while the trooper was rushed to Vavuniya Military hospital. The SLA claimed the ambush was launched by LTTE cadres who escaped.
● The SLA said three troopers were injured in an attack by the LTTE at Macanar road in Sector 5, Vavuniya. Vavuniya police claimed that an LTTE cadre was killed in SLA retaliation.
● The decomposed body of a young man, believed to be about 25, washed ashore at Karaithivu beach, Samanthurai, Amparai. The body had gunshot wounds, its hands tied behind and its throat tightly bound by rope. The unidentified body was buried at the site due to its decomposed state.
● Sri Lankan government security forces arrested 42 Tamils, including female students, in a cordon and search operation in Kohuwela, Colombo. Police allege those arrested failed to prove their identity and the purpose of their stay in the area, but relatives said the police refused to release the detainees even after these details were supplied.
● Thirteen upcountry Tamils were arrested in Dankotuwa in a cordon and search operation by Sri Lankan forces. Although Police allege the detainees were taken into custody as they failed to produce their identity and reasons for their stay in the area, relatives said they were employed in Dankotuwa and that they had submitted legal documents to prove their identity.
● Seven upcountry Tamils working in a coir factory were taken into custody by government security forces in a search operation in Nattandiya, Negombo.
● Armed men shot dead a Tamil, believed to be a resident of Killiveddy, Serunuwara, Trincomalee, at Kantalai railway station. He had gone to Kantalai, accompanied by his mother, to go to Batticaloa by train. He was shot while coming out of the station rest room.
● A SLN sailor was seriously injured in grenade attack on a group on security duty at Pesalai, Mannar. About four thousand Pesalai residents sought refuge in the local church soon after the grenade attack, fearing increasing violence.
● Two unidentified youths were killed and one civilian critically injured when LTTE cadres and members of the paramilitary Karuna group engaged in a fire fight in Kaluthavalai, Kaluwanchikkudy, Batticaloa. S. Jegajothirajah, 50, the Depot Manager of Kaluwanchikkudy Peoplised Transport Board, was injured while travelling in a bus along the main road to Colombo.
● A Home Guard trooper was killed in an attack on the 18th guard post at Kurumankadu, Vavuniya. The Home Guards, paramilitary fighters deployed in the Sinhala border villages of the northern and eastern areas, are trained by the SLA and police. The Home Guards Service was formed in 1985 as a supplementary force to support and assist the three forces and the police by protecting border villages and the main supply routes.
● Men dressed in military fatigues abducted Selliah Siventhiran, 25, from his home in Madduvil East, Chavakachcheri, Thenmarachchi, Jaffna.
