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Violence in NE – week ending Nov. 12

Summary of incidents - apart from major clashes - since November 6

The week to 12 November saw 27 people killed, 11 injured, 3 disappeared and 8 arrested. However, these figures do not include the major incidents of violence, which saw scores of civilians and combatants killed.

In Jaffna, twenty one people were affected by the violence, of whom 15 were killed and three injured and three disappeared. In Batticaloa, six people were killed and five injured. Eight people were arrested in Colombo during the week. In Vavuniya three people were killed and two injured, while two people were killed in Trincomalee, and one each in Mannar and Amparai.

November 12

● The bodies of two civilians, including a 14-year old school boy who was abducted by men in white van, were found dumped near Aanaippanthy junction, a suburb of Jaffna town. The victims were identified as Ravi Rajeevan, 14 and Thangaroopan Jeeva, 21, of Vellaipanthi, Kondavil East.

Ravi Rajeevan was a grade-7 student at Kondavil Paramsothi Vidyalayam. He was abducted from his home Saturday. Villagers said a SLA truck was observed in the area at the time of his abduction.

Thangaroopan Jeeva was interrogated by SLA soldiers during a cordon and search operation in Kondavil Saturday. He was arrested by the soldiers later on the day. Thangaroopan returned from UAE about 2 months ago and he was to get married within days.

The bodies were found near the spot where two Sri Lanka Army Intelligence Officers were killed in a claymore attack on Thursday.

● Armed men in a white van abducted three youths in Chunnakam, Jaffna, officials of the SLHRC in Jaffna said. Relatives of the abducted say that SLA soldiers operating from the Atchelu Army camp are responsible for the abductions.

Chelliah Kumarasooriar, 30, a day laborer from Ikkiran, Kantharodai in Chunnakam was abducted by armed men in a white van. The men assaulted Kumarasooriar's wife and children before driving off with the victim.

Saravanapavananthan Hariharan, 24, an employee at the private airline operator Aero Lanka, was abducted by armed men in Chunnakam junction.

Another youth, Balasundarampillai Kamalraj, 23, a day labourer, was abducted by a similar armed group from his residence in Kantharodai Road, Chunnakam.

November 11

● Alaharsamy Saravanakumar, 35 a trader who owned a business near Sathirai Santhi (junction) along KKS road, within the HSZ in Jaffna, was shot dead by gunmen riding a motorbike. In the same incident, Nadarasa Nishanthan, 24, from Vannarpannai, working as an assistant at the same business was seriously injured.

● A SLA trooper on guard duty at the sentry point located close to Malisanthi in Vadamaradchy along Jaffna-Point Pedro road was shot and seriously injured by gunmen.

● Two armed men on motor cycle shot two youths at a bus stop at Araiyampathy, Batticaloa, seriously injuring both. One of the youths succumbed to his injuries while being rushed to hospital. The dead youth was identified as Krishnapillai Mohanadas, 24 and the injured is Amirthalingam Thineshkar, 22, both cousins and residents of Selavnagar in Araiyampathy. The cousins, after finishing work at Mohanadas' father's hotel on Araiyampathy Main street, sat talking at the bus stop close to their house as they usually do, when the gunmen shot at them at close range.

● Two armed men on motor cycle lobbed a hand grenade on the Kodaikallaru police sentry post in Kalavanchikudy, Batticaloa, seriously injuring a policeman. The policemen at the sentry point opened fire on the attackers but they managed to escape unhurt. The injured policeman was identified as S. K. Kumara, 28.

November 10

● Nadarajah Raviraj, 44, Jaffna district TNA parliamentarian was shot in Colombo. (See separate story.)

● Heavy fighting was reported in the seas off Trincomalee and Nilaveli. Fishermen in Trincomalee reported a big explosion and a series of explosions following it.

● Jesudas Sabaratnam, 35, a civilian from Nalanthanai in Kayts, was shot dead. Gunmen who arrived at Jesudas's Nalanthanai house, shot him at close range and escaped.

● Armed men shot dead a man at Alaiyadivembu area, Amparai. The victim is around 35 years old.

● Three unidentified gunmen took away a tractor driver from his home for interrogation in Marutha Nagar in Valaichenai, and later shot him dead near a refugee camp on the Vinayagapuram School road. Bullet wounds in the victim's head indicated a T-56 gun was used in the killing. The victim, a father of two, was identified as Subramaniam Chandrebose, 31.

November 9

● A Sea Tiger flotilla clashed with Sri Lanka Navy in the Northern waters killing 25 SLN troopers, capturing 4 troopers alive and destroying two Dvora Fast Attack Crafts. (See separate story)

● Unknown persons detonated a claymore device hidden along the Jaffna-Pt. Pedro road between Nallur temple and Anaipanthy junction in Jaffna, killing two SLA Intelligence Officers riding a motor cycle. A sixteen year old girl, Y. Panuja of Arasady in Jaffna, riding bicycle along the same road was seriously injured and admitted to hospital.

● Arumugam Vignarajah, 50, the President of Koddady Fisheries Society, was shot dead while cycling home from a nearby Temple. Koddady is located in the boarder of SLA HSZ Point Pedro. He was a Tamil activist involved in organizing protests against SLA harassment and violence in Jaffna district.

● Unidentified gunmen shot and injured Sinnaththurai Baskaran, 36, from Avarangal, in Valikamam East region, in front of the Jaffna branch office of the SLHRC located close to the SLA's Civil Administration Office. Local residents said Mr Baskaran may have earned SLA's ire because of his involvement in exposing the recent SLA's killing of five youths travelling in an auto-rickshaw in Puththur area. Baskaran led the SLHRC officials to the site of the killing and also openly took part in the agitation against SLA.

● Unidentified gunmen shot and seriously injured a trooper at Madathady junction SLA mini camp near the Water Tank area on the Jaffna Main Street. The SLA trooper succumbed to his injuries while being rushed to hospital.

● Two unidentified gun men shot dead a family man at his house in Alavetty area in front of Alavetty Arunothaya College. Kanthaiah Sivanesan 48, a father of two, happened to be alone home as his wife and children had gone out.

November 8

● Scores of civilians were killed when the SLA fired Multi-Barrel Rockets and artillery shells targeting Kathiraveli, a coastal hamlet 15 km north of Vaaharai, hit a school where five thousand Internally Displaced People had sought refuge. (See separate story.)

● SLA fired artillery shells crossed over the Head of SLMM Major General Lars Johan Sølvberg and his delegation who were visiting the LTTE controlled Pooneryn jetty to undertake a feasibility study on Colombo's latest suggestion in opening Pooneryin Sangupitty Road as an alternative to A9. SLA fired artillery shells exploded 200 meters behind in Pooneryn jetty area while the delegation was visiting the site for inspection. The Norwegian Major General returned safely, LTTE officials told TamilNet. While returning, artillery shells exploded at 20 meter distance.

● Unidentified armed men in military fatigues opened fire on a home guard road patrol unit, killing one on the spot and seriously injuring two at Thirvagama in Vavuniya district. Sunil Jayanth was killed on the spot while the two injured home guards were rushed to hospital.

● Two dead bodies with their hands bound were recovered by Vavuniya police three weeks earlier were buried at government expense as they were not claimed.

● SLA soldiers and police cordoned off and searched Kottawa area in Colombo arresting eight persons including six Tamils in connection with the recovery of a 40 mm hand grenade found on the top of a building in Kottawa area. The six Tamils arrested are staff employed in a Foreign Employment Agency and a Photograph Centre located in Kottawa.

● The body of an elderly disabled man, who was abducted by three unidentified armed men Tuesday from his house near Kanthaswamy Temple in Kopay north, was recovered at Thirunelveli Dairy Farm area in Jaffna, with bullet wounds. Kathiravelu Selvarasa, father of seven, had lost his leg in a mine explosion and moved about with a prosthetic leg. Relatives of Selavarasa said that the abductors took him away saying they wanted to interrogate him.

● Unidentified armed men shot dead Kathirgamathamby Gowri, 31, a mother of two children, at her house on Barathi road at Arumugathan Kudirippu in Eravur. Her husband is working in the Middle East.

● A former SLA trooper was killed in a bomb blast at his house in Eravur. The Police suspect that the bomb may have detonated while the trooper was inspecting the device, or it may have been planted in his house by his local enemies.
The dead man was identified as Ibrahim Mohamed Nazeer, 37, a trader by profession. Nazeer, a father of three children, was alone at his house when the bomb exploded. The explosion completely destroyed Nazeer's house while causing some damage to neighbouring houses.

November 7

● The bodies of two youths were recovered by the Uppuveli Police at Kanniya, Trincomalee, and the body of one youth at Allesgarden, north of the eastern port town. All three had been shot.

● Unidentified armed men, alleged to be orthodox Muslims, in a white van lobbed hand grenades and opened fire on Abdur Rauf Moulawi, the Islamic religious teacher belonging to Sufi sect, and some others standing in front of his office near Kathankudy Bathriya Mosque in Batticaloa, injuring four. Ideological conflicts between the orthodox Muslims and the Sufi sect, two rival Islamic sectarian groups in Kathankudy, were the reason for this attack, added the police. Abdur Rauf Mowlavi, a leader of Sufi Islamic sect, escaped without any injuries.

● A SLA Intelligence officer was seriously injured near Nelliady junction, Vadamaradchy, when unknown gunmen shot at two SLA officers riding a motorbike. The SLA Intelligence officers were riding along Jaffna, Point Pedro road after inspecting SLA patrols in several areas in Vadamaradchy when the gunmen emerged from the Vathiry-Kodikamam road, sprayed gunfire towards the SLA officers, and escaped.

● Four women were injured when a mortar shell launched from the LTTE area targeting the Murkodanchenai SLA camp fell and exploded on a house near the SLA camp. SLA officials allege that the LTTE shell, intended to strike Karuna paramilitary group’s newly opened office at Murakodanchenai, had missed its target injuring civilians. The injured women were identified as Chandramathy 28, Indira 40, Kanagamma, 48 and Saraswathy, 50.

● Several hundred residents belonging to more than 100 families, fled from Thihilivettai, Illupaiyadi Mummari and Siruthenkal villages in the Kudumbimalai area in LTTE held area in Batticaloa and sought shelter in the neighbouring jungle to escape mortar fire from the Valaichenai Brigade SLA camp.

November 6

● The SLA launched artillery attacks from Valaichenai SLA camp and Karadikulam SLA camp towards Vaharai amid troop deployment at Gajuwatte SLA camp. The LTTE's Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said the SLAF carried out 2 sorties of aerial bombardment in Paalchenai and Vammivedduvan in Vaharai region in Batticaloa district. "All communication and transportation facilities towards Vaharai has been cut off. Even the small amount of humanitarian supplies reaching the region twice a week, has been blocked by the Sri Lankan military," Mr. Ilanthirayan told TamilNet.

● Many Tamils living in the Habarana area, where more than 100 SLN troopers were killed in a blast, are moving out of their homes as Tamils are being arrested in the frequent cordon and search operations held in the area by the SLA and the police.

● SLA soldiers shot dead two youths in Thirunelveli, Jaffna. SLA alleged that the youths were cadres of Liberation Tigers and that they recovered weapons from the youths. Thirunevely residents said they heard gunfire and grenade explosions behind Palay Road, near Kaali Kovil (Temple).

● Mathiyaparanam Nimalchandran, 38, was shot dead by unknown gunmen who arrived at his home in motorbikes.

● Kathirgamanathan Lalitha, 45, a mother of seven, was shot dead by unknown gunmen at her home in North West Alvai, Vadamaradchi. She also had deep cut wounds on her face, suggesting that she had struggled with the assailants before being shot.

● Unidentified armed men took away a fisherman from his home in Valaichenai, Batticaloa, and shot him dead. Thambipillai Karunakaran, 34, father of two, of Kinaiyady Nagthambiran Temple Street, was shot three times in the head with a 9mm pistol.

● The body of an unidentified male who washed ashore on the Talaimannar coast was buried at the government expense as no one came forward to claim the body. Post-mortem examination revealed that the person had died due to drowning.

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