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In an exhibition of a new challenge to the sovereignty of Sri Lanka the recently de-banned Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam took into custody seven soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army, said Army sources in Colombo. The seven soldiers still in the custody of the LTTE terrorists are from the Wilgam Vehera Army Camp, said Brigadier Santh Karunaratne, the official army spokesman. A member of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and Army officers who were requested by the LTTE to wait 500 meters North of the place where the soldiers were arrested had to return empty handed since the captors did not bring their prisoners to be handed over to the Sri Lanka Army officers added Karunaratne. They were waiting there until 6.15 p.m., September 26 and it was getting dark, he said. Brigadier Karunaratne said the SLA soldiers from the Vilgam Vehera Army Camp were loading sand to an army truck where the army as well as civilians used to remove sand in the past. Suddenly armed LTTE cadres came to the spot and arrested the seven soldiers, he said. The army spokesman said the soldiers were not armed and only one person possessed a weapon for the protection of the army truck. The command office of the Sri Lanka army in Trincomalee then frantically tried to contact the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission . They were told that they should wait until the LTTE hierarchy contact their provincial leaders. Afterwards they were advised that the representatives of the SLMM and the SLA should wait 500 meters North of the place where the soldiers were arrested to receive them back. Though they waited until 6.15 p.m. neither the soldiers nor their captors arrived forcing them to return empty handed. Brigadier Karunaratne said it was a shame such an incident had occurred.(EOM) (02/09/27 go2lanka.com) |