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Troops clear LTTE obstacles on Valachchenai - Batticaloa road

Three LTTE members clad in civil clothes had blocked the Valachchenai- Batticaloa road in the general area of Kinniady junction by placing stones and logs in the middle of the road in the wee hours of Thursday, a Government Information Department press release said yesterday.

According to reports they had stopped buses plying on the road and checked the identity cards of the passengers.

On receiving information about the incident a foot patrol was sent by the Kumburumoolai detachment to the location. On arrival of the troops LTTE members had fled the area. Troops have immediately cleared the obstacles placed on the road by the LTTE.

The LTTE has done this to protest against the detection of three LTTE cadres who entered the cleared areas without any permission on March 27 carrying with them a GPS, three cyanide capsules and radio communications sets.

The troops at the Kinniyady camp arrested them approximately 100 meters away from the camp. One of them was identified as Tharan, an intelligence leader of the LTTE in charge of Valachchenai, Kiran and Sittandy areas.

Another LTTE cadre who was in the vicinity escaped arrest after threatening to swallow a cyanide capsule. After his escape he has instigated the schoolchildren of Saraswathi Vidyalaya, Kinniyady to protest against the arrest which later developed into a mass gathering of around 1,500 people.

They obstructed military vehicular movement after lying on the road when the three cadres were to be transported to the Valachchenai Police Station.

To prevent any more violence, the military officers decided to release the LTTE cadres after seizing the GPS. The GPS was handed over to Valachchenai Police Station. To prevent such incidents in the future the military officials reported this matter to the Ceasefire Monitoring Committee, the release added.

Meanwhile, three LTTE cadres who were allegedly recruited to the organisation by force had managed to escape captivity and surrendered to the Kiran Army Detachment on the morning of March 27. These men had further alleged that they were conscripted by the LTTE on November 27 last year and were trained for about two months in one of their camps.

These three men were handed over to the Valachchenai Police for further investigation. 

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