Former UN staffer Benjamin Dix released his first graphic novel this month, exploring the story of Tamil families trapped in the Vanni in 2009, as the Sri Lankan military launches an ominous offensive that kills tens of thousands civilians.

Malaysian security forces arrested five more men today, including two Democratic Action Party (DAP) assemblyman, claiming that they were linked to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which remains a proscribed organisation in the country.

Officers from Sri Lanka’s Special Task Force arrested a former LTTE cadre last week, a year after the same cadre and his children were attacked by a Sri Lankan police officer.

Sri Lankan police allege that they found 4 grams of heroin inside P Vasanthakumar’s house, following a search and raid operation. He is currently on remand over the drug charges.

Last year, Vasanthakumar and his two children were left hospitalised following an attack on them by  the Officer-in-Charge of the Kanakarayankulam Police. The assault triggered protests from the local Tamil community, yet no one was held accountable.

The body of a Tamil man has been recovered in Vauniya yesterday, a day after he was reported missing by his family.

<p>A family in Jaffna have filed complaints against Koppay police, accusing the department of helping and protecting a violent attacker in their neighbourhood.</p> <p>The family from Kokuvil East registered complaints with the Human Rights Commission (HRCSL) and the National Police Commission, claiming they felt threatened as they were being attacked by a neighbour who had the support of the police.</p> <p>The family said that the man who had broken into their home and attacked them was helped by the police in getting released on bail.</p>

The European Union (EU) is providing EUR 40 million to Sri Lanka to co-finance the "Strengthening Transformation, Reconciliation and Inclusibe Democratic Engagement (STRIDE) project.

Dr R.H.S. Samaratunga, Secretary to the Treasury at the Ministry of Finance, signed the financing agreement on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka on 9 October 2019.

The Sri Lankan army carried out a military exercise with international troops in the Tamil homeland last month, with senior commanders accused of war crimes overseeing operations.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) held a ceremony in Kilinochchi to commemorate thirty-two years since the death of the first female fighter of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Hundreds of asylum seekers have fled Sri Lanka, across the Indian Ocean to the islands of La Réunion and Mayotte off the coast of Madagascar, only to be deported back to Colombo according to figures released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Since January 2018, at least 291 asylum seekers from Sri Lanka reached the African islands. Yet the vast majority have had their asylum applications turned down by the French territories, reports The New Humanitarian. It states that in February for instance, of 70 people who arrived on the island, only six were allowed to enter.

A Sri Lankan court has acquitted four soldiers over the gang rape of a Tamil woman, after they had been found guilty and sentenced for the crime in 2015.

The four soldiers from Sri Lanka’s 572 Brigade, identified by The Island as P. I. Sunasinghe, D. Dhammika Pushpakumara, Priyantha Kumara and one other soldier, had initially been found guilty of raping the 27-year old Tamil mother of two in Kilinochchi in 2010, by the Jaffna High Court in 2015. They had been sentenced to at least 25 years imprisonment.