Sri Lanka News Updates with Discussions

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'Ground troops observed nine LTTE cadres killed, and sources say 24 were injured.'

Defence Lanka Friday, 20 July 2007, 10:46:27 GMT

By intercepting the LTTE communication, it is revealed that at least 9 LTTE cadres were killed and more that 20 received injuries due to the effective retaliation launched by army troops.

FEATURE-Sri Lanka rebels forcing Tamils to join war effort
Fri 20 Jul 2007 2:03:24 BST
By Simon Gardner

KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka, July 20 (Reuters) - In Tamil Tiger territory, youths like Rajathurai Ponnambalam are living in hiding to avoid being forcibly recruited by the rebels and sent to fight in a Sri Lankan civil war they don't believe in.

Many residents Reuters spoke to during a rare visit to the rebels' heartland in the north said the Tigers are demanding every family contribute at least one member to a movement widely banned as a terrorist organisation by the likes of the United States, Britain and the European Union.

They tell of how brothers, sisters, sons and daughters have been taken against their will to camps to be trained as fighters. They say they are helpless to prevent it.

'They said: 'Your family does not have an LTTE member, so you must join,' said Ponnambalam, who is in his 20s and gave a false name for fear of retribution from the rebels. 'I did not agree, so they took me away in a vehicle.'

'They took me to join the group as a fighter. They showed me about training, about fighting,' he added. 'I don't want to join. My family depends on me.'

He managed to get away. Many others have not been so fortunate, or live in constant fear that they will be next.

The Tigers deny they insist on recruiting one person from each family, but aid workers say the demand was made earlier this year and that the rebels have promised their staff will be exempt.

'There is no strict compulsion as to every family should give a single member,' Tiger political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan said in an interview during a visit to the rebel's de facto state.

'There are families from which you have two or three members (who have) already opted to serve in the LTTE ... but we are very keen to ensure that not more than one person from one family is in the LTTE, because that would be minimizing their family work.'

AID STAFF TARGETED

Families receive letters from the Tigers with names of members who must join underlined. Most international aid agencies are having to keep some local staff indoors. Some of them have not been able to leave their compounds for months. 'All the NGOs in the area have great concerns towards recruitment policy. We do experience that staff of all the different NGOs are getting abducted or have tremendous pressure towards them because they want to recruit them,' said Arne Bangstad, programme manager of Nordic aid agency FORUT.

'We have been promised by the political wing that such recruitment should not take place and that the humanitarian status of the NGOs would be respected. But in practicality, we find that this is not really the case.'

Recruitment posters are pasted around Kilinochchi town. Pictures of the rebels' elite Black Tiger suicide wing pepper bus-stands and shop fronts.

'Join with us. Protect our land from the Sinhalese army,' the posters say next to a photograph of a rebel fighte

Velu allow East to fall inorder to strengthen the defences is in North..

Velu is the most worried man in Vanni..

These Tiger diehards in the forum having a very hard time convincing fellow tamils to support Velu's UNWIANABLE war...

Bravooo....

Signed Mavil.

Peeinthanaya,

Now your problem is observed by ear and listen by eye right? :):):):)

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