Currently over 4,500 refugees in Mannar are waiting to travel to Jaffna and more refugees are arriving from the Vanni war zone daily. Another 3,500 are waiting further east at Uyilankulam. In June over 70 people reached the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Diarrhoea and malaria are spreading fast in refugee camps and Pesalai hospital is struggling to cope with increasing patients and shortage of medicines. Local government officers say the money allocated for refugees is only sufficient to provide one meal a day and petitioned Northern Province Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority chief Somapala Gunadheera visiting Mannar on 20 June.
The Tigers continue to infiltrate Mannar. The Navy attacked a LTTE boat off Talaimannar on 10 June. Three Tigers jumped into the sea and escaped. Following a LTTE attack on a patrol in Talaimannar four days later, the Army shelled a housing scheme injuring Poomany and Sagayamalar.
LTTE’s Pistol Group shot and injured an intelligence officer in Mannar town on 24 June. A Tiger attempting to infiltrate army-controlled Uyilankulam on 28 June was shot dead.