In brief
Casualties
The Army say 1,464 soldiers died in the the war with the LTTE in the year 2000 and 9,000 were wounded. The military also say that 87 civilians died and 566 were injured.
Asylum
The Navy arrested seven youths in a boat off Wennapuwa, ten miles north of Negombo in early January. Officers say that their intention was to travel to Italy to seek asylum.
Acquisition
Land Development minister DM Jayaratne announced in mid-January that from February onwards the government will acquire 360,000 acres of derelict private land. It is unclear whether this includes lands of people displaced in the current conflict.
Protection
Over 300 fishermen began a hunger strike on 8 January, before Ramnad District Collector’s office in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, demanding protection from the Sri Lankan Navy in the Palk Strait. The Navy shot dead two Tamil Nadu fishermen in January and seriously wounded four others.
Arrest
Tamil Nadu police arrested two suspected LTTE members in the Mandapam refugee camp in Ramnad District. They were sent to a special detention centre for LTTE members near Chennai.
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