Today marks 24 years since over half a million Tamil men, women and children fled their homes in Jaffna, ahead of a major military offensive by the Sri Lankan government led by Chandrika Kumaratunga, in what became known as the Jaffna Exodus.

The General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), a Sinhala extremist group in Sri Lanka, has vowed to settle in Mullaitivu at the site of a controversial Buddhist vihara, located in a Tamil majority district in the North-East.

The Sri Lankan government claimed it had achieved a “great victory” in securing a $480 million dollar grant from the United States as part of Millennium Challenge Corporation Grant.

Sri Lanka’s cabinet approved the grant on Tuesday, which will allow American funding of infrastructure and traffic management projects across the island.

During a session in Brussels, Secretary-General of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Helga Schmid met with Sri Lanka’s Ambassador for the EU, Grace Asirwatham, and noted that trade relations between Sri Lanka and the EU had witnessed significant growth in recent years.

The Sri Lankan army has reportedly set up a sham archaeological museum inside its camp opposite the Neeraviyadi Pillaiyar temple and are claiming the artefacts were from the area and belonged to the disputed Buddhist vihara built next to the temple.

Nigeria’s army has a sent a delegation of six members, to receive five days of training from the Sri Lankan armed forces in Maduru Oya.

Major General G Oyefesobi, the director of the Nigerian Army, led the delegation and spoke with Sri Lanka’s Army Commander, Shavendra Silva.

A former Northern Provincial Council (NPC) member has accused the Sri Lankan government of duplicity over its claims that Tamils are allowed to freely commemorate their dead, after he was questioned by Sri Lankan counter-terrorism police over his involvement in genocide memorial activities.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Chief for Sri Lanka, Manuela Goretti, has urged Sri Lanka to exercise prudence and fiscal discipline in the lead up to Sri Lanka’s presidential election as well as structural reforms.

During an interview Manuela Goretti told reporters;

Residents of Vavuniya were alarmed by an unexpected patrol by Special Task Force troops around the town while Deepavali celebrations were ongoing on Sunday.

In some places the troops stopped their patrol bikes and questioned residents.

The US Acting Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of South and Central Asia in the State Department told the House Foreign Affairs Committee last week that the appointment of Shavendra Silva to the head of Sri Lanka’s army had “deeply concerned” Washington.

Tamil demonstrators staged a protest in Jaffna today, as former Sri Lankan defence secretary and front running presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa visited the city and met with a notorious paramilitary leader.