Army closes in on Madu

Two fighting formations of the Sri Lanka army's 57th division have surrounded the Madhu church premises after a renewed round of fighting in the area. Troops leading the advance from Pandrivichchan have already secured two smaller churches in the area.

Meanwhile the holy statue of Virgin Mary has been moved from the Church premises to Thewayampiddi (currently under LTTE control) in the Wanni after fighting erupted near Madhu church premises. According to Bishop Rayappu Joseph, the statue was moved to LTTE controlled territory to prevent it from being damaged by LTTE's own artillery fire.

The Liberation Tigers have been continuously shelling SLA positions in the region which are now situated 1KM-1.5KM from the church premises. According to military intelligence LTTE has deployed its heavy artillery guns in close proximity of Madhu shrine on a number of previous occasions, exploiting the cover of the no-war-zone. According to three LTTE cadres who surrendered to the armed forces on the 3rd, LTTE has deployed fighters from its Radha regiment, Malathi regiment (comprises entirely of women fighters) and its elite Charles Anthony regiment in the Madu sector.

Meanwhile Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Mi-24 helicopter gunships attacked an LTTE mortar launch pad in Andankulam region today afternoon. Details of any damages caused by this air raid are not yet available.

Extracted from,
http://defencenet.blogspot.com/2008/04/army-closes-in-on-madu.html

Sri Lankan gov't resettle over 50,000 families in east

The Sri Lankan government said Friday that over 50,000 families displaced in clashes in the east when situation deteriorated there in 2006 have now been resettled.

"During the last 10 months we have managed to resettle 17,938 families in Trincomalee and 31,343 families in Batticaloa," A. M. Razick, the secretary to the Ministry of Re-settlement told reporters on Friday.

Razick said this represents over 150,000 individuals, adding that over 8,000 families are yet to be resettled.

The government's resettlement of the internally displaced people began after it secured the entire Eastern Province from the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in July 2007.

Extensive clashes between the LTTE and government troops broke out in the province in mid-2006 when the LTTE carried out continued attacks around the eastern port of Trincomalee.

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