SLMM officials went to Mavil Aru "unannounced": Major U Rajapakse

SLMM officials went to Mavil Aru "unannounced": Major U Rajapakse

Rajesh Sundaram, Delhi, 7 August 2006

Sri Lankan military spokesman Major U Rajapakse has said that the LTTE and SLMM team that claims to have come under Sri Lankan artillery shelling on their way to the Mavil Aru mini-dam did not inform the Sri Lankan Authorities about their visit.

" The SLMM team went there unannounced. I cannot confirm if they did come under our artillery shelling..but i can tell you they went there unannounced." Rajapakse said, talking to this correspondent on Phoneline from Colombo.

Rajapakse said the operation to take control of the Mavil Aru mini-dam was continuing and that 5 Sri lankan soldiers were killed and 2 injured over night.

" I do not have the exact figures but the LTTE suffered many casulties during this period. we have that information from our sources on the ground and communication intercepts." he added

The rebel military spokesman could not be contacted till the filing of this report.

The Sri Lankan army has denied that it had any role in the killing of 15 Tamil aid workers working for the French NGO "Action against Hunger."

" We found these bodies 11 male and 4 female with bullet wounds in the head in their office near the Muttur hospital. At the time of their death the area did not have even a single member of the security forces. The deaths happened when the area was under rebel control. It is either the work of the LTTE or some other group." Rajapakse added

Earlier a spokesman for the Tamil tiger rebels had blamed the killings on government forces.


( Picture credit : tamilnet.com, SLMM Chief Ulf Henricsson and LTTE's political head Elilan enter a bunker near Mavil Aru to escape alleged Sri Lankan army artillery fire)