Unidentified armed men arriving on a motorcycle hurled a hand grenade on Friday around 5:30am on the house of a Muslim teacher in Ea’raavoor police division in Batticaloa district, sources in Ea’raavoor said, according to TamilNet.
No one was injured but the front part of the house was slightly damaged in the blast.
The house attacked belongs to AM Abdul Kaleem, 62, a teacher and is located on Kathiyaar Veethi, Ea’raavoor.
Ea’raavoor police are investigating into the incident.
Ea’raavoor is located 16 km north of Batticaloa town.
Seven EPDP persons were seriously wounded and rushed to Batticaloa hospital after a hand-grenade explosion inside their cell in the Batticaloa Prison on Friday morning around 5:00am, police said.
The Batticaloa prison, located in a High Security area, is guarded by the police and the Sri Lanka Army.
Further details are not available at the moment.
The EPDP has been opposed by the TMVP in Batticaloa district.
Unidentified gunmen opened fire on Friday around 2:30am on two paramilitary men of the political-cum paramilitary party TMVP, seriously injuring them, at Ka’n’nakipuram area in Akkaraippattu police division in Ampaa’rai district, sources in Akkaraippattu said.
The injured men, admitted to Akkaraippattu hospital first, had gone missing while being transferred to Kalmunai Hospital for further treatment, the sources added. The injured men are Sureshkumar and Karunakaran.
The two men were returning to the TMVP office in Aalayadiveampu from Ka’n’naki Amman Temple when the gunmen shot at them.
Kalmunai police are investigating the shooting.
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna denied permission for the Maha Season paddy cultivation in areas adjoining its High Security Zone (HSZ) in Ma’ravanpulavu, Thanangki’lappu and Koayilaakka’ndi in Thenmaraadchi, depriving thousands of Internally Displaced families of their sole livelihood, farmers representatives in Jaffna said.
The farmers have repeatedly requested Jaffna Government Agent to allow them to cultivate their paddy fields.
SLA had not allowed any agricultural pursuits in Thenmaraadchi following its offensives on Jaffna in year 2000.
The farmers, however, were allowed to cultivate certain areas following the Cease Fire Agreement between the Sri Lanka government and Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE), in 2004 and 2005.
When SLA again imposed its ban in 2006, the IDP farmers had sought the help of Jaffna GA to permit cultivation in their paddy fields in Thenmaraadchi.
The year end Maha season paddy cultivation which depends entirely on the monsoon rains has to be begun now, the farmers said.
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers in their sentry post on Naavatku’li coast on finding a male corpse of a youth with gun shot wounds washed ashore Thursday night handed it to Chaavakachcheari police.
The youth may have been killed in the clashes heard on the Front Defence Line (FDL) areas in Thanangki’lappu and Kokilakka’ndi in Thenmaradchi the day before, Naavatku’li residents said.
The body, clad in a pair of shorts and blue T-shirt, appeared to be that of a male between 20 to 25 years of age.
Chaavakachcheari police handed over the body to Jaffna Teaching Hospital mortuary for identification.
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) fleet of Dvora Fast Attack Crafts (FAC) opened fire on Thursday morning around 6:00am on fishermen engaged in fishing in the seas of Mullaiththeevu and on the coastal areas.
Two fishermen narrowly escaped death while their boat was completely destroyed, sources in Mullaiththeevu said. Meanwhile SLN staged a similar attack on fishermen fishing in Vadamaraadchi east seas.
Fishermen Mohanathas and Nesan, fishing in Mullaiththeevu sea narrowly escaped death as they jumped into the sea but their boat was completely destroyed.
The two fishermen managed to swim back to the shore unhurt.
The other fishermen too rushed to the shore abandoning their fishing gears.
The fishermen’s huts and boats on the shore were damaged in the SLN attack.
Though SLN Dvora FACs launched a similar attack at the same time on Thursday on the fishermen in Vadamaraadch east sea no one was hurt and there was no damage to their properties.
A 15-year-old boy and a 33-year-old vegetable trader were killed on the spot at Olumadu Thursday evening when a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Deep Penetration Unit triggered four Claymore mines targeting the grocery traders who were riding in a motorbike towards Nedungkea’ni in Mullaiththeevu district, Tamileelam Police said.
The attack came a few hours before the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) dropped leaflets instructing the people of Vanni to move out of the LTTE-controlled areas to Vavuniyaa.
The victims, Chandran and the young boy Sukirthan, from 7th Division in Puthukkudiyiruppu, were on their way to transport vegetables from Nedungkea’ni to Puthukkudiyiruppu when they were attacked and killed by the DPU at 4:10pm.
Problems encountered in procuring Sri Lankan Defence Ministry permission to take certain electrical components to Jaffna peninsula and the delay in shipping them may affect the ongoing arrangements to supply the needed electricity for the entire peninsula until early next year, Sri Lanka Electricity Board (SLEB) Jaffna officials said.
When Laxapana national electricity supply was suspended in 1990, the electricity supply to the peninsula was taken over by the SLEB in Chu’n’naakam.
The whole of last year, electricity to the peninsula was supplied by the firms Agrico and Cool Air from Chu’n’naakam electricity yard.
As the electricity generated in Chu’n’naakam was insufficient to cater for the full needs of the peninsula, a power cut lasting for an hour and a half was imposed by the government in an alternative circulation arrangement covering the different areas of the peninsula.
Meanwhile, a firm entering into a contract to supply electricity to the peninsula had imported six generators from China and begun laying the foundation for them to be installed in Chu’n’aakam electricity yard in the first stage of the project.
In the second stage, six more generators were imported from Hong Kong to be installed, but being used ones, repairs had to done, delaying the project that aimed for completion by the end of 2008, sources in Chu’n’naakam said.
Besides, certain electrical components required to establish supply lines could not be taken to Jaffna without the permission of the Defence Ministry which causes delay in shipping them.
Moreover, the time taken in shipping the necessary parts and components to Jaffna creates still more delay.
Due to the above situation, the power cut currently being imposed in the peninsula will most probably last until early next year, according to SLEB Jaffna officials.