Civilians first victims of hit-and-run war
Tiger build-up in the east
A large LTTE unit overran the Palliyagodella police station, 27 miles east of
Gal Oya in Polannaruwa District, on 22 October killing 17 policemen and three
Home Guards. A day earlier, six soldiers died in a clash at Mavadivembu in
Batticaloa District.
Sources say that a large number of Tiger cadre, as never seen before, are
currently massing in the east and have orders to capture territory. LTTE is
strengthening its civil administration in areas in its control with intensified
efforts to collect taxes.
The Tigers have also taken up position in the vast south-eastern jungles of Yala
Sanctuary, a popular tourist area. A number of abductions and attacks on
fishermen, north and west of the Sanctuary have been attributed to the LTTE.
A Wildlife Conservation Department house was burned down and five
government officers abducted on 20 October. In late October the Special Task
Force launched search operations from north and south of Yala to track down
the Tigers.
Civilians are increasingly caught up in the struggle for control of the east. Six
passengers in a bus were injured when Tigers attacked a checkpoint in
Kaluvanchikudi on 4 October. Reports say I Thulasimani was shot dead by the
Army when she went to collect firewood in Paithalai on the same day. The
following day 14 soldiers and a civilian were injured in a Tiger landmine attack
at Palathady south-west of Batticaloa.
Four civilians were abducted at Mandur 13th Colony on 9 October by
unknown gunmen. The Peithalai refugee camp was surrounded by the Army on
the same day and six people were arrested. S Uthyasuriyan, 17, is still held in
police custody. Muthiah Thavamalar died after sustaining serious injuries in
Airforce bombing in Kaluthavalai on 22 October.
The Kovilady bridge at Sithandy, north of Batticaloa was destroyed by the
Army on 15 October. Eight houses in the vicinity were damaged. Another
bridge at Mahilady was also bombed on the same day to prevent vehicles being
hijacked by the LTTE.
Much of the area west of the Batticaloa lagoon remains in the hands of the
LTTE. As people celebrated the annual Kali temple festival on 22 October in
Tiger-controlled Porativu, 20 miles south of Batticaloa, the military launched a
major military offensive. Troops advanced east from Vellaveli acompanied by
shelling and aerial bombing. Helicopter gunships killed an old woman and
seriously injured three other civilians in Kaluthvalai.
In Amparai District, over 300 people fled to Mandur when border Tamil
villages Malaiyarkattu and Ranamadu were attacked by the security forces in
mid-October. Several houses were set ablaze.
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