Security in Talaimannar was intensified in late September after three civilians were detained for several hours by LTTE cadre. Tigers have continued to infiltrate the island and the Mannar mainland captured by the Army in February in Operation Edibala. The LTTE shot dead a policeman at the Mannar bus stand on 18 September.
Reports say government officers are unable to visit village areas in Mannar District to carry out their duties following the hijacking of a number of state vehicles allegedly by the LTTE. In mid-September the vehicles used by Mannar and Nanattan Assistant Government Agents were hijacked in Mannar town.
The refugee ship service from Mannar to Jaffna, suspended in late September because of safety fears was resumed later. The ship Tharaki carries 290 refugees to Kankesanthurai three times a week. Around 600 refugees who arrived from Pesalai on 26 September returned disappointed when an additional ship promised was not available. Around 2,500 refugees were awaiting in Mannar in early September to travel to Jaffna. Another 100 refugees arrived from Trincomalee as ship services from the eastern port remained suspended following LTTE attacks on ships.
Over 90 refugees from the western coast of Sri Lanka arrived in Dhanushkodi and Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu in early October. NGOs say some 100 people are arriving in boats every month in the southern Indian state. There are currently 75,000 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Tamil Nadu camps.
The Jain Commission which for the last three years probed conspiracies behind the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi submitted its report to Home Minister Indrajit Gupta on 28 August. Former Indian Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi have given evidence before the commission. The court case relating to the Rajiv murder begun in January 1994, in which LTTE leader V Prabhakaran is an accused, is expected to be completed by the end of the year.