Allegations have been made that a soldier from the Plantain Point Army camp dragged a seven year-old girl from Uvarmalai into the Vairavar Hindu temple on 4 February and sexually assaulted her. He was caught by members of the public and handed over to the police.
Reports say that Muslim refugees in Puttalam have not been issued dry rations for the last two months. There are currently more than 35,000 Muslim refugees in Puttalam. The refugees began a hunger strike on 19 February. The protest ended after three days when the government assured that dry rations will be issued to refugees for six months from January.
Further north in Mannar District, according to press reports, UNHCR was prevented in late February from continuing its work in LTTE-controlled areas. More than 890 sq.km. territory of Mannar’s total area of 1,100 sq.km. is in Tiger control. There are over 19,000 refugees in Army-held areas and 31,000 in LTTE-controlled zones. UNHCR has village-level projects in both areas.