SRI LANKA AIR FORCE BOMBS VAKARAI AND MANNAR AS LTTE
KILLS TEN DURING TWO DAYS SINCE THE NEW YEAR

By Walter Jayawardhana

The Sri Lanka Air Force Kfir fighter jets bombed Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam bases in Vakarai and in Mannar destroying a heavy gun position and a Sea Tiger base in response to the enhanced violence launched by the Tamil Tigers during two days since the dawn of the New Year.

During two days since the dawn of the New Year the LTTE killed ten people by gun fire and claymore bombs in the troubled East and North of the country.

The Sea Tiger base at Illukpaikadawali north of Mannar was bombed 9.30 a.m. January 2 and at 10.20 a.m. on the same day a mortar gun position was destroyed at Vakarai, military sources said.
The Sri Lanka Army said, a police Jeep proceeding for an administrative matter was targeted in an LTTE claymore mine explosion at Settikulam, Vavuniya, 240 kilometers North of the capital, January 1 around 3.00 p.m. by the LTTE killing two police constables and injuring another.
The injured Police constable was rushed to Vavuniya Hospital.

The incident came hours after another claymore mine was set off against an army foot patrol, killing one soldier and injuring two others in Jaffna, 390 km north of the capital ,an army spokesman said.
The LTTE started the New Year by killing three young men supporting Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) or Karuna Faction at Kiran near Batticaloa in the morning of January 1.

The Sri Lanka Army sources said, Civilians informed the troops that three dead bodies were found lying close to a church in the area apparently killed by rivals, the previous night.

Troops rushed to the scene and recovered the dead bodies of those youths identified as Sivanesveram Puvenesvaram (24), Senthurai (23) and Yoganathan Mayuran (23).

Reports confirmed that two of them, Senthurai and Yogananthan Mayuran have been working for a leading insurance company in the area.

The remains were later sent to Valachchena hospital for post mortem and legal procedures.
In the East four other bodies, belonging to majority Sinhala community were found in Bakmitiya, Ampara, 360 km east of the capital, and were believed to have been killed by the LTTE for providing information to the Special Task Force.

The Sri Lanka Army was moving cautiously to flush out the LTTE from their last bastion in the Eastern province since they believed that about 10,000 civilians were still living in the area. The army thinks still the LTTE were holding them as a human shield. More than 25,000 people have already escaped to the government controlled area from Vakarai. An army spokesman said, "We believe that the Tigers are using civilians as human shield and hence the military is proceeding cautiously. It is a matter of days before we get there and rid the east of the Tiger menace."