A court in Mullaitivu resumed its trial of Tamil Guardian correspondent Shanmugam Thavaseelan on Tuesday, following a resurgence of attacks on Tamil journalists by Sri Lanka’s security forces.

Sri Lankan police armed with sniffer dogs conducted a search operation at Vavuniya Hospital earlier today, stating that they had been tipped off about a bomb on the premises.

At least 10 Sri Lankan cricket players announced they are to pull out of an upcoming tour of Pakistan, leading to a Pakistani minister claiming India had “threatened” the Sri Lankans.

A Tamil family in Australia, who are currently being detained on Christmas Island whilst they fight deportation to Sri Lanka, have appealed directly to Australia’s ministers to be allowed to live in the country as they await further legal proceedings.

Canada, Germany and the UK expressed concern that Colombo has made “slow” progress on accountability, calling on the UN Human Rights Council and the international community “to give the necessary attention and support to Sri Lanka”.

The states, whom alongside North Macedonia and Montenegro make up the Human Rights Council core group on Sri Lanka, said that “pledges made by Sri Lanka to its people are the essential ingredients for national healing, stability and prosperity.”

Tamil families of the disappeared held rallies across the North-East to mark International Day of the Disappeared and demanding justice for their disappeared family members. The largest of the rallies saw families from across the Tamil homeland joined by members of the public and politicians in a march from Vavuniya to Omanthai army check point, the location were hundreds of families surrendered their disappeared family members to the Sri Lankan army. Similar rallies were also held in Mannar and Batticaloa.

Sri Lankan terror police arrested Dr S Sivaruban, the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) at Palai Hospital in Kilinochchi, alleging he had links to terrorist activities.

Dr Sivaruban was arrested in the Elephant Pass area by Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) officials at around 8.30pm on Sunday and then taken to his workplace Palai Hospital, which the TID subjected to a two-hour search.

Following the search, a colleague of Dr Sivaruban’s was called upon by the TID and made to take over his duties.

While Dr Sivaruban remains in detention reportedly with TID in Jaffna, Palai residents protested on Tuesday calling for his release.

Sri Lanka’s wildlife department has taken over crop fields owned by Tamils and declared them as a wildlife sanctuary, despite the owners possessing centuries-old deeds for the lands.

Residents of Kokkuthoduvai, a village of Mullaitivu District bordering Trincomalee have been distressed by the wildlife’s department’s seizing of their fields in Vellai Kalladi, Thimunthal, Kunchukaalveli and Kottaikeni and erecting boards declaring them state-owned sanctuary land.

 “In 1984, people of our village were systemically driven out by Sinhalese thugs and the whole village got displaced. Afterwards the Mahaweli ‘L’ zone was created under the name of Weli Oya and 1036 acres of our lands with tanks were seized and given to Sinhalese people,” said Sivalingam, a resident and member of the Karaithuraipattu (Maritimepattu) Divisional Council.