Sri Lanka Army (SLA) key officials informed Jaffna Secretariat that the possibility of bringing civilians from Vanni to Jafnna peninsula for detention appears limited, Jaffna Secretariat (JS) sources said. Action is being taken to detain Vanni civilians instead in the SLA occupied areas like Ki’linochchi, Ka’ndaava’lai and other indentified places constructing big concentration villages, sources in Jaffna said. JS officials, recently taken by SLA to gather particulars of the civilians from Vanni held without being sent either to Vavuniyaa or Jaffna peninsula, refuse to reveal the information for security reasons.
Holding back the civilians from Vanni in the places occupied by SLA raises suspicion and fear in the light of accusations by Liberation Tigers that SLA is using these civilians as human shields in their attacks on the Tamils in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) territory in Vanni, civil society sources in Jaffna said.
Vanni civilians arriving in Vavuniyaa district too are still being held between Oamanthai entry point and areas held by LTTE earlier, without being sent to Vavuniyaa.
The number of civilians held in the above area or in Ki’linochchi, Ka’ndaava’lai and other unidentified SLA occupied areas in Vanni has not been officially released yet.
This holding back of the actual particulars of the civilians held in detention raises fear as to the fate of them in the future, the sources further expressed concern.
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