Batticaloa MP Pararajasingham Joseph condemned the unprovoked attack on civilians. A day earlier, following a clash in Valaichenai town, in which a Tiger and a soldier died, the Army shelled Oddamavady, damaging houses and injuring three women.
The security forces conducted a cordon and search operation on 23 April at Kannakipuram and Vinayagapuram in Valaichenai area and interrogated a number of people. A day earlier, the Army checkpoint at Mylankarachchai on Valaichenai-Nasivantivu road was burned by suspected LTTE cadre. Following the incident, soldiers assaulted civilians at Mylankarachchai village and forced them to rebuild the checkpoint.
The people in the east have no respite, as the government continues to reject the ceasefire offer of the LTTE. On 2 April, eight Tamils from Alankulam in Batticaloa District, who went into Sinhapura in Polonnaruwa District to collect firewood were arrested by the Army. The military launched an operation on 9 April and advanced west into LTTE-controlled areas from Kiran and Valaichenai. This was preceded by shelling of the area from Valaichenai Army camp. Hundreds of people fled from Perillaveli and Kudumbimalai to Thihilivattai and Sithandy. The security forces continued to shell LTTE areas. In late April, the Army again announced an impending attack and asked people to move from a 4 km area around LTTE camps, causing further displacement.
Two Muslims were abducted on 24 April near an Army camp in Valaichenai. Local people say Tiger cadre who arrived in a boat near Nasivantivu were responsible for the abduction. Eastern Muslim agencies say that the LTTE continues to abduct Muslims for ransom and have warned that this may further affect the relationship between the Tamil and Muslim communities. Tamil newspaper Virakesari says that the LTTE executed S Thillainayagam of Thikkodai in late April for the murder of his father-in-law. He was shot dead in public at the Thikkodai junction.
Further south in Amparai District, the police Special Task Force (STF) arrested Selvarasa Thevathasan and Sellathamby Selvarajasingham on 9 April at Thirukovil. Both had obtained employment in the Middle-East and were scheduled to leave shortly.
In Trincomalee District, two people were arrested in Muthur town during a cordon and search operation on 8 April. The Navy fired shells on Soodaikudah village in Muthur on New Year Day, 14 April, damaging four boats and a house.