Mannar villagers seek safety from SLA deep penetration unit

Fear of armed members of Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) are forcing residents of Silavthurai, Arippu and Mullikulam in the Mannar district to leave their houses by dusk and return after dawn, civil society sources in Mannar said. Residents are alarmed at the grenade attack on a house at Savariarpuram in Silavthurai on Tuesday night by a group of armed persons believed to be belonging to the DPU, sources in Mannar said.

Mannar residents say that they have witnessed movement of strangers armed with weapons and fear that members of the DPU are on the prowl during nights in their villages in the Liberation Tigers held area in the Mannar district, civil sources said.

Mullikulam residents are spending their night at St.Mary's Church, Silavthurai residents in St.Francis Xavier Church and Arippu families in a common ground in the middle of the village, sources said.

Villagers have complained to Mannar Bishop and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Mannar, sources said.

(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18043)

2 killed, 3 wounded in DPU claymore explosion

Two Agriculture Department officials were killed and 3 wounded Friday morning when a vehicle belonging to the department, transporting fruit plants, was hit by a Sri Lankan Deep Penetration Unit Claymore mine blast around 8:45 in Nedunkerni, 37 km northeast of Vavuniya. One of the two Claymore mines, triggered by the DPU attackers, exploded. Sri Lanka Army launched an artillery attack, firing around 25 shells were fired towards the attack site, after the Claymore explosion.

The officials killed in the Claymore explosion were identified as Tharmalingam Ganesalingam, 59, father of 3 and Vetrivel Mahendran, 52, an agriculture education officer and a father of 3.

Two of the wounded, identified as K. Kurukulasingham,53, and Sithiravelautham, the driver, were rushed to Nedunkerni hospital and transferred to Vavuniya hospital in critical state.

The third victim, with minor injuries, was treated at Nedunkerni hospital.

The officials and driver had come from the Sri Lanka Army controlled Vavuniya town Thursday and were transporting fruit plants from Nedunkerni towards Nainamadu when their pickup vehicle was attacked at Iyan kovilady, Nedunkerni Prathesa Sabai officer S. Paranthaman said.

The vehicle, with registration number 53-0904, was completely destroyed in the attack.

Nedunkerni hospital has limited facilities as the only doctor, Kathirkamathamby Jeyamalina, his wife, driver and two nurses were killed, when DPU attacked their ambulance on August 09.

The claymore mines were placed by a deep penetration unit of the Sri Lanka Army troopers who were believed to have come from Padaviya in the north of Anuradhapura district, Tamileelam Police offcials in Kilinochchi said.

Nedunkerni is located in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam controlled area in Vavuniya district.

(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=20814)