In brief
Attack
Three suspected LTTE suicide bombers died on 28 December when their truck exploded half a mile from the Magalle naval base in Galle District where Navy Commander Cecil Tissera was staying. Ten shops and two houses were damaged. Police arrested four Tamil youths and questioned Tamils working in shops in Galle.
Found
British customs officers arrested 15 Sri Lankans and a Bangla Desh national on 29 December attempting to enter Britain illegally, hidden in a freezer truck arriving from France.
Rejected
According to Danish television, the European Union turned down appeals from Lithuanian authorities for assistance to provide food and housing for refugees currently held in extremely poor conditions, but offered to assist improve border security. Other reports say 103 Sri Lankan illegal entrants in Lithuania will be deported.
Protest
Tamil party PLOTE staged a demonstration before Parliament on 5 December demanding government action on disappearances in Jaffna and release of 12,000 Tamil refugees held in camps in Vavuniya.
Disease
Two children died of disease at Sirambiyady in Jaffna in late December. Reports say a number of people in the peninsula are afflicted by an unidentified disease.
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