The Sri Lankan military continued with its militarisation of the North-East by involving itself in Christmas proceedings in the Jaffna peninsula this week, in the face of continued criticism from locals.

<p>The international community should set up an accountability mechanism for mass atrocities committed in Sri Lanka “without delay”, said C V WIigneswaran the former Chief Minister of the Northern Provincial Council, just days after Sri Lanka’s president reiterated his opposition to any accountability for war crimes.</p> <p>"I am not saying that there should be two laws – one for the Sinhalese and another for the Tamils,” Wigneswaran <a href="http://island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&amp;page=article-de…">told reporters on Sunday</a>. “But it can be seen that the Tamils are the community which suffered most from the war. Therefore, it is natural for them to harbour doubts about the rulings given by the Sri Lankan courts with regard to the war crimes.”</p> <p>"The government forces should not be afraid of our insistence on international input into the war crimes’ inquiry if they had not committed any war crimes,” he added. “Instead, they should welcome the opportunity to clear their names and support us in this move.”</p>

<p>Nine Tamil youths, arrested in Jaffna on Monday for alleged involvement in sword attacks, were refused bail when they appeared before Mallakam Magistrate Court.&nbsp;</p> <p>The nine youths were ordered to be held in remand for 14 days.&nbsp;</p> <p>Chunnakam police claimed to have recovered six swords and one motorbike from the youths.&nbsp;</p> <p>Local residents have questioned how gang violence can be taking place without any army involvement when military officers and police remained deployed across the North-East.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A Sri Lankan army officer helped 6 other Sinhalese men in the attempted abduction of an elderly Tamil man in Jaffna on Tuesday for allegedly owing them money.&nbsp;</p> <p>The elderly man was saved when locals caught sight of the abduction attempt and intervened. Three men escaped, however four were caught by local residents and handed over to the police.&nbsp;</p> <p>According to locals, the three men who escaped were also military personnel from the Iyakkachchi army camp.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Almost two months after Sri Lanka's political crisis began, ministers in the new Cabinet took their oath before the president today, who holds on the defence portfolio.&nbsp;</p> <p>The sacked then reinstated, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will hold the ministry for northern development, rehabilitation&nbsp;and prison reform.&nbsp;</p> <p>Mangala Samaraweera will remain as Minister of Finances and Media, and Tilak Marapana as Minister of Foreign Affairs.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Responding to a petition signed by over 10,000 British citizens calling for Sri Lanka to be referred to the International Criminal Court, the UK government said that "international criminal justice and accountability is a fundamental element", however maintained that the UN Human Rights Council resolutions were the best way of acheiving accountability.&nbsp;</p>

The Sri Lankan army announced that it had launched a football workshop with Tamil schoolchildren in Mulllaitivu, despite calls for the armed forces to withdraw from civilian activities in the heavily militarised region.

The United States said it was “pleased” that Sri Lanka’s political crisis had taken a step towards resolution with the reinstatement of Ranil Wickremesinghe, and noted that “we look forward to engaging” with the reappointed prime minister.

US State Department spokesman Robert Palladino stated that “Sri Lanka is a valued partner in the Indo-Pacific, and we look forward to engaging with Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and his cabinet to advance cooperation on bilateral and regional issues of common interest”.

His comments were echoed by US ambassador to Sri Lanka, Alaina Teplitz who tweeted,

<p>Sri Lanka’s rupee continued to fall this week, as the fallout from Colombo’s political crisis continued to dent sentiment, reports Reuters.</p> <p>“Political paralysis remained the main concern for investors,” added Reuters, who reported that dealers also pointed to a delay in appointing cabinet ministers contributing to the weakening rupee.</p> <p>The fall comes despite the reappointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe as Sri Lanka’s prime minister, after almost two months of political turmoil which saw the dissolution of parliament, widespread reports of bribery and parliamentary violence.</p>

Residents in Iralkuli and Navaladdy villages in Muthur, Trincomalee have condemned the failure of local authorities to protect locals from destruction by elephants and other wild animals. 

Residents protested outside the Muthur Divisional Secretariat Office on Monday, accusing authorities of ignoring their request for a fence to be erected to stop elephants from entering the villages.