Local people say 87 houses and 30 fences were reduced to ashes and another 30 houses damaged. Electricity Board employee K.Sangaramurthy was stabbed and injured with a bayonet. In a letter to President Chandrika, TULF leader M Sivasithamparam says that indiscipline in the Army is widespread and has demanded an enquiry.
After the Tigers wounded two policemen at Mylankarachchai, north of Batticaloa, security forces shot dead T Subramaniam and destroyed 14 houses. Another twelve houses were burned at Thiyavattavan.
Clashes between the LTTE and the Army occur every day in the east destabilising the entire area. The Tigers attacked the Sinnawathai police station on 12 July killing a policeman and a civilian. In a clash at Sithandy, 6 miles south of Valaichenai, a soldier and 32 Tigers were killed on 21 July.
The Army conducted several search operations in the east. Ten people were arrested in a dawn search of Batticaloa town on 11 July. Over 3,000 people were rounded-up in Kallady on 1 August and interrogated. All were released later.
A gang attacked the Batticaloa office of the Tamil group EROS on 14 July killing P Chandrakumar. Municipal councillor R Prabhakaran, his wife and son were seriously wounded. His son Krishanthan later died in hospital. A policeman and another suspect have been arrested. Batticaloa Mayor Cheliyan Perinpanayagam says he is deeply concerned that the incident took place inside the Army security zone. Security provided to local councillors in Batticaloa was withdrawn in June.
Shelling from Kommathurai Army camp injured S Mathani and bank employee S Murthy in Chenkalady on 5 July. Two others were injured at Kiran two days later. LTTE shells injured students R Suresh and P Niroshan in Batticaloa town on 13 July. N Murugamurthy was killed by a shell while sleeping at his home in Thandiyady in mid-July. Thayathu Mohamed and his son Ismail were killed by shells on 21 July at Navalady.
In Trincomalee District following the assassination of two local MPs, security was tightened. Over 2,500 people were rounded-up in Trincomalee town on 27 July and 12 detained. In another round-up on 31 July in Uvarmalai, 3,000 people were taken to a church and paraded before masked informers. Twenty were held for further enquiries.
Two policemen were killed in a LTTE attack on a security post at Thoppur south-east of Muthur. Seven Muslim civilians were also killed in the attack.