International   

Further thrust towards Mullaithivu

COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan military on Saturday said troops operating in the West of Ampalawanpokkanai area attacked several LTTE positions to make more room for the civilians held hostage in the No Fire Zone [NFZ] to come into the cleared areas.

The Defence Ministry here said the troops recovered nine bodies of LTTE cadre and ammunition. Also, snipers deployed in the forward areas reported shooting down of 15 armed LTTE cadre.

It said over 600 more civilians sought refuge with the soldiers. It said the troops operating in the southern anterior of the NFZ had pushed their forward boundaries further towards Mullaithivu on the A-35 road (Paranthan-Mullaithivu) .

The military also said a three-month pregnant woman fleeing the LTTE-held area was shot at and critically injured in an indiscriminate small arms fire at Puthumathalan by the Tiger cadre.

The woman was among many who were seeking protection. The group managed to bring her across the shallow waters. Separately, the Foreign Ministry said Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona met U.S. State Department officials on Friday for an interaction on the situation.

The Ministry quoted Dr. Kohona as telling U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher that the forces, having cornered about 500 LTTE combatants in the NFZ, are exercising extreme caution to safeguard civilians held hostage.

The statement said Mr. Boucher reiterated the call by the Tokyo Co-Chairs — the U.S., Japan, the E.U. and Norway — for the LTTE to “allow civilians to move freely out of harm’s way”.

“The U.S. Assistant Secretary of state also raised the possibility of having an individual meet with LTTE leaders to discuss a surrender under which the LTTE would lay down their weapons.”

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Further thrust towards Mullaithivu
Mehsud has links with ISI: report
Sympathy, dismay in Thailand
U.S. tugboat with 16 crew hijacked

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu