8 April
A SLA soldier was killed and six others wounded in a claymore attack, when attackers targeted a group of SLA troopers on road patrol near Pandathatharippu in Valikamam, Jaffna. SLA soldiers who cordoned off the area following the road side blast beat civilians. One of the wounded soldiers was in serious condition.
7 April
● A claymore mine in Vavuniya killed at least 7 civilians and wounded 25, including four children. The claymore attack targeted a bus carrying Tamil civilians (see separate story).
● The Catholic clergy in Jaffna suspect that the mutilated torso found at Punkuduthivu sea on March 14, packed in a military sand bag and tied to a grindstone by barbed wire, likely belongs to the disappeared Catholic priest Rev. Fr. Jim Brown. The church has appealed to the Jaffna Magistrate to facilitate sending blood samples to Colombo to perform DNA tests. Rev.Fr. Thiruchelvam Nihal Jim Brown, 34, Parish Priest of Allaippiddy and his aide Wenceslaus Vincent Vimalan, 38, disappeared on August 20, 2006 after being interrogated by the SLA at Mandaithivu checkpoint. The extra effort taken by the killers to ensure the body remained at the bottom of the ocean have aroused suspicion that the body belongs to a VIP.
● The SLA and police arrested 12 Tamil civilians in Uddapu and Munthal, Tamil villages in Chilaw in a cordon and search operation. The arrested Tamils are natives of Trincomalee, Jaffna and Uddapu areas. Seven areas in these villages were cordoned off and a house-to-house was conducted.
● SLA troops conducted an extensive cordon and search operation in Vadamaradchchy in the villages of Vathiri, Alvai and Kottavaththai. Hundreds of young family men and women were taken from their homes to a public ground for questioning where they were paraded before masked men and later released.
6 April
● Seven SLN personnel were killed and a gunboat was sunk after a naval clash when three SLN gunboats blocked a Sea Tiger patrol in Mannar. "Our Patrol Unit Commander reported seven enemy casualties after the encounter which lasted for 15 minutes," LTTE Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said. The clash took place inside LTTE's territorial waters, according to the Tiger military spokesman. There were no casualties on LTTE side, he further said. The SLN claimed the clash had taken place 5 nautical miles off Bathlangunduwa. Meanwhile, the SLN in Colombo claimed to have sunk a LTTE boat and said one of the SLN Inshore Patrol Crafts was slightly damaged and a sailor had sustained minor injuries.
● A Tamil youth was shot dead by unidentified persons who in a white van at Palaiyootu, Trincomalee. The body was not identified. Earlier, an attempt had been made by unidentified persons to shoot another Tamil youth, but he fled from the scene with injuries.
● Three Tamil civilians, including two women, were arrested in a cordon and search operation in Wellawatte, Colombo. They were detained in Wellawatte police station and subjected to interrogation. Police said the three were taken into custody when they failed to prove their identity and the reason for their stay in the locality.
● A SLA soldier was killed a civilian seriously injured when two motorbikes collided at Kulappiddy junction, within Jaffna municipal limits. The soldier, L. Ariyadasa, 30, was rushed to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. A number of civilians were injured in Sri Lankan armed forces involved traffic accidents in Jaffna Peninsula in the recent past. Over speeding is said to be the cause of many accidents.
● A Tamil trader, Paramaguru Ramesh, 36, was shot dead at Puduthukuddiyiruppu in Thampalakamam by unidentified men. The men stopped the three-wheeler in which he was travelling from Trincomalee town to his village and shot him dead.
● Armed men in a white van abducted a young Tamil trader in Karaveddy, Vadamaradchchi, Jaffna. Relatives lodged complaint at Nelliady police and at the Jaffna office of the SLHRC. Kandasamy Komaleswaran, 25, a resident of Vigneswara College Road, Karaveddy, was forcibly abducted from his home by the armed gang, and when the family members raised cries, they were threatened at gun point. A white van was seen moving around the area a short while before abduction and the youth was forced to walk up to the vehicle before being taken away in the same van.
● Thirty eight persons were arrested in cordon and search operations by the combined government armed forces in Tangalle, a town in Matara district. Of the arrested, nineteen were Tamils, and three Tamil were detained for further questioning.
5 April
● Medical officers of Vavuniya public hospital abstained from duties, going on medical leave, in protest against a paramilitary group demanding money. The paramilitaries had issued death threats if the money was not paid. Vavuniya police said they have received no complaints on the matter. The MOs, however, said that they had reported the matter to the Ministry of Health and its Secretary and to other authorities related officials. "We will continue to perform our duties only if the Health Ministry assures our safety and takes immediate action to investigate the matter," the MOs added.
● Raveendran Ravi, 54, and Sindhu Ravi, 42, husband and wife and parents of four recently displaced from Vavuniya, were killed in Paalampiddi, Vavuniya when a SLA DPU triggered a claymore mine targeting the IDP couples' bicycle. They were attacked while they were cycling towards their IDP camp in Thadchanaamaruthamadu.
● SLA soldiers stopped hundreds of Catholic worshippers assembled at St James Church in Sillalai Parish, Jaffna, from celebrating Maundy Thursday, and ordered them to leave the Parish because they had not obtained prior permission to hold the ceremony. Rev.Fr. Roshan, the Parish Priest and the Secretary to the Jaffna Bishop, had finished conducting a special sacrament when SLA soldiers ordered a halt to the event. They also ordered the Parish priest to call in at the SLA camp the following morning for an inquiry.
● SLAF Kfir bombers flew over Vadamaradchi East and bombed Iyakkachchi and Kaddaikkaadu villages in LTTE controlled Vadamaraadchi East in Jaffna. A few houses were damaged in the attack.
● The SLA ordered all residents of Thampalakamam, a traditional Tamil village, along Trincomalee-Kandy road, Trincomalee, to register their names, addresses and other related details with the police station in Kovilady.
● Armed men shot dead a Tamil youth in Meeravodai, Valaichenai, Batticaloa. The killers shot P. Kokilaraja, 21, at his residence and fled from the scene.
● SLA troopers opened fire on two farmers travelling on a tractor to work in paddy fields at Ottuveli, behind Valaichenai Paper Factory in Batticaloa, seriously injuring one of them. The injured farmer, Abubucker Anees, 30, of School Road, Meeravodai, Valaichenai, was rushed to hospital. Valaichenai police claimed Karuna paramilitary group members had been exchanging fire with LTTE and when the farmers happened to pass by later, they were shot at by armed men waiting in ambush. However, local residents in the area said that the SLA troopers shot and injured the farmer.
● Attackers shot and killed four Sinhalese paddy farmers at Nidanwala in Dimbulagala, Polonnaruwa (see separate story).
● Three passengers were killed and 53 injured when a private bus turned turtle at Teldeniya in Kandy. 20 passengers are in critical condition.
● Six Tamil civilians were arrested in a cordon and search operation in Kandy, in the central province. Five of the arrested are natives of Jaffna and one person is from the upcountry. Police said they were taken into custody as they failed to prove their identity with valid documents. They also failed to give reason for their stay in Kandy during the preliminary investigation.
● A claymore mine weighing about 10 kg was recovered from the third floor of a building in Wattala, a town in western province. The bomb disposal squad of the SLA rushed to the site and diffused the mine. In a search operation in the area, the police took into custody seven persons, most of them are Tamils.
● A fisherman fishing with two others in a fibreglass boat in Talaimannar Sea went missing after unidentified persons fired at his boat. Two other fishermen escaped from the fire and reached the coast safely in the boat. They said Mr. Nelson, 32, had fallen into the sea with gunshot injuries and drowned.
4 April
● Two civilian passengers were killed and four wounded on Kaivaeli - Puthukkudiyiruppu Road in Mullaiththeevu when SLAF Kfir jets bombed the area. B. Pradeep, from Moongilaaru, Mullaitheevu was one of the passengers killed in the air strike and the other was not identified. Luxmanan Kunaratnam, 30, father of two from Vallipunam, Kandiah Anandarajah, 45, from Ampalavan Pokkanai, Amirthalingam Arignan, 27, from Manthuvil in Puthukkudiyiruppu and Sittampalam Tharmasenan, 29, father of one from Visvamadu, were wounded in the attack.
● The Puthukkudiyir'uppu office of White Pigeon, an NGO fitting prosthesis, was damaged in the aerial attack on Puthukkudiyiruppu, Millaitheevu. However, the Sri Lankan military in Colombo claimed they had attacked a Sea Tiger base in Mullaiththeevu.
● The body of a youth with hands bound and several gunshot wounds was recovered in shrub jungles between Kanagampuliyadi Junction and Puthur in Jaffna. Local residents said there was heavy presence of SLA soldiers in the area the previous night and they heard several gun shots. Residents said that SLA soldiers conducted an intensive search operation near Manthuvil into late evening the previous day. Residents speculate that the youth must have been abducted Tuesday, taken to Meesalai North area and shot during the night.
● The bullet ridden body of Theivendiran Sasitharan, 20, a resident of Kondavil was discovered near Station Road in Kondavil, Jaffna. The youth had been forcibly abducted by a group of eight gunmen half an hour earlier near Kondavil Hindu Vidyalayam while returning home after transporting his sister to her school. The armed men on four motorcycles took Sasitharan to an isolated place adjoining the Jaffna Secretariat Store for questioning. While being interrogated Sasitharan broke free from his abductors, but he was chased by the armed gang and shot dead in an adjoining farm land. The motor cycles of the armed group were seen parked for a long time along Palaly Road, near a SLA camp in Thinnavely.
● The SLA arrested 15 people after a cordon and search operation in the villages of Siththandy, Morakkoddanchenai and Santhively in Eravur, Batticaloa. After initial interrogation, all the arrested persons were handed over to the Eravur Police for further investigation.
● Armed men shot dead a mason at Sunkankerny in Valaichenai, Batticaloa. The killers stopped Kumarasamy Varathan, 42, a father of four and a resident of Valaichenai main street, and his friend as they were riding on a motorcycle along School Road, allowed his companion to go free, and shot the mason dead, killing him on the spot. The victim and his friend were returning home after attending a birthday party.
● The body of a youth was recovered from the HSZ surrounding the Sapuskanda oil refinery of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation in Kelaniya, Colombo. Sapuskanda Police said the body belonged to a 26-year-old Tamil native of Chavakachcheri, Jaffna, but declined to give his name or other details. No injuries were found on the body but police suspect he had been killed and his body dumped in the HSZ.
● Thirteen plantation Tamils, including two women, were arrested in Kataragama, in the south, in a combined cordon and search operation by the SLA and Police. The Tamils were staying with their relatives at Gowthamigama colonisation scheme at the time of arrest. Tamils and Sinhalese families have been residing in the scheme without any differences since the scheme was established. Kataragama Police said the arrested are being detained at the Police station and the police are investigating their background.
3 April
● A man and a woman were killed when a SLA DPU infiltrated into LTTE controlled territory in Samalankulam, Vavuniya North. The DPU attackers knifed the victims after they were injured by a claymore.
● Vavuniya police claimed LTTE cadres shot and injured two home guards in an area close to the Mamayilankulam tank area in Vavuniya.
● Four civilians were wounded when SLAF Kfir jets bombed Alampil in Mullaithivu. The wounded were identified as Sebamalai Manohararajah, 45, Chinnan Luxmykanth, 57, Deiyvam Sriharan, 28, and Sundaralingam Baskaran, 29.
● Two armed men, alleged to be Karuna Group members, shot dead a refugee at the Koralankerny refugee camp in Kaluvankerny, Eravur, Batticaloa. Cithiravel Sivanathan, 28, displaced from Pankudaveli, Paduvankarai, in the LTTE held territory, was taking a bath at a well near the camp when he was shot by the men who were on a bicycle.
● Armed men took a labourer from his house for interrogation and shot him dead at Parathipuram, Aiyankerny, in Eravur, Batticaloa. Kanapathipillai Suresh, 21, succumbed to his wounds while being rushed to hospital. He worked as a labourer in rice grinding mill in Kalmunai. Suresh was sleeping at his house when the killers called him out for interrogation and shot him in front of the house.
● The SLA arrested more than 35 IDPs who had gone to 38th Colony, Palayadivettai and Nellikaddu villages, located on the border between Amparai and Batticaloa, to inspect the houses from which they had fled. The detained were taken to Kondaivettuvaan SLA camp in Amparai. SLA troopers have been accused of looting properties in the villages of IDPs in LTTE held territories and transporting them openly in tractors and lorries to their camps.
● A two-year old displaced child died at Kaluwanchchikkudy IDP Transit Camp by accidentally falling into a small pond while its mother was bathing in the pond. As the IDPs in Batticaloa district face many problems in the Transit Camps including water and sanitation, they are compelled to use water for bathing and washing clothes, from improvised ponds where rainwater is collected. The child fell in such a pit and died. P. Ariyaneththiran, a TNA parliamentarian for Batticaloa said the death could have been avoided if authorities had supplied adequate water to the transit camps.
● Two armed youths on a motorcycle opened fire on a Karaithivu STF road patrol unit, killing a STF trooper in Kalmunai town, Amparai. The STF troopers chased the youths trying to escape and shot one of them dead within a short distance. Kalmunai police claimed the youths were LTTE and that the STF had recovered a pistol from the killed youth.
● Two gunmen shot dead a motor mechanic at Pandiruppu, Kalmunai in Maruthamunai, Amparai. The killers shot the mechanic while he was standing in front of his motor repair garage located near Maruthamunai on Kalmunai main street. The victim was identified as Arunalsalam Jute Jeyakumar, 29, a father of one child from Manalchenai, Kalmunai.
● Armed men shot dead a young married man in Periyaneelavanai, Kalmunai, Amparai. The killers abducted Poopalpillai Kamaleswaran, 22, resident of Mahalingam Road, Periyaneelavanai, from his home while he was with his wife and children, led him towards a nearby beach and shot him at point blank range, killing him on the spot.
● Mr. Edward Gunasekara, Gampaha district parliamentarian who rejoined the main opposition UNP, complained to the Speaker that his life was under threat and to take steps to provide protection to him. He said the government should be held responsible if anything happens to him. Mr. Gunasekara was one of the eighteen dissident parliamentarians of the UNP who crossed over to the government and accepted cabinet, non-cabinet ranks and deputy minister posts. Mr. Gunasekara resigned as Deputy Minister for Railways and rejoined the UNP.
● A reporter of the Tamil News Information Centre was abducted by the SLA while he was riding motor bike along Uduppiddy road. Kopal Suresh, 31, from Arasady, Karaveddy had been working in the Tamil News Information Centre as an official Reporter.
2 April
● Sixteen civilians were killed and 27 wounded when a bomb exploded inside a bus at the Sri Lankan military check post at Kondaivedduvaan, Amparai (see separate story).
● SLA soldiers and Police arrested ten Tamil civilians during a cordon and search operation in Thankalai, Hambantota. All the arrested Tamils were Northeast and the plantation sector.
● Kalavanchikudy police recovered the body of a family man with hands bound, multiple stab wounds and severe torture marks, dumped into a well in Eruvil, Kaluvanchikudy, Batticaloa. The victim was identified as Kathiramalai Kanthasamy, 28, a father of one, from Eruvil.
● SLA troopers shot dead two youths in Kurukalputhukulam, Vavuniya. The police claim the dead were LTTE cadres.
● A person from Anpuvalipuram and another from Ilinganagar in Uppuveli Police division were taken away forcefully by unidentified persons in a van. Their whereabouts remain unknown.
