Heavy Tiger shelling in northern Sri Lanka forces ICRC to withdraw

Heavy mortar fire by the Tamil Tiger rebels in the Omanthai area in Vavuniya this morning forced the ICRC representatives at the Omanthai entry/exit point to withdraw, defense officials said.

Military sources said the Tigers have launched intermittent mortar attacks from early morning today forcing the authorities to temporarily close the Omanthai entry/exit point to civilian traffic.

With the LTTE attacks, the military had to close the checkpoint at about 11.45 a.m today, a military official said.

“Departure of the ICRC point officials forced the Security Forces to immediately close down the vital link-way as a security measure without risking the lives of Kilinochchi bound civilians and the traffic,” he added.

Read more,
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_07/May17150351JV.html