Government troops killed six LTTE rebels, for of the dead were women. Two more rebels were killed in two other encounters. The number of people killed by LTTE rebels and government troops has been increasing, averaging 10-15 dead (increasingly civilian) each day. The LTTE has increased its attacks on non-Tamil civilians.
September 18; A group of LTTE terrorists, including some women, killed 54 Sri Lankan villagers in revenge for a government air attack that killed 22 Tamil civilians.
September 16; LTTE rebels blew up an army truck and killed ten soldiers.
September 15; Government warplanes attacked a village in LTTE territory and killed 22 civilians and wounded 35.
September 14; The toll of injured in the past few days fighting is apparently nearly 1200.
September 13; Two days of intense combat in Mannar (312 kilometers north of the capital) have left 175 dead and over 500 injured. The battle began when two columns of government troops advanced into LTTE territory. This division size operation ends two months of relative inactivity by the army. In several other incidents, LTTE guerillas killed and injured several policemen and soldiers and attempted to plant bombs in eight buses.
September 12; The government is pricing laser guided bombs, cluster bombs and electronic warfare equipment, with the intention of upgrading its armed forces. More modern warships are also being sought.
September 8; Eleven LTTE guerillas and a civilian were killed in several incidents. The government and the LTTE agreed to a four day truce so that a nationwide polio immunization program by the UN to go forward. Some 1.8 million children are to be immunized.
September 5; The government has admitted that is has been tapping email, telephone and fax transmissions. This has caused a political and media uproar.
September 2; The top two leaders of a pro-government Tamil militia were killed by a bomb in their north Sri Lanka headquarters. The LTTE has long used such tactics to weaken their competition for leadership of the Tamil community (most of whom want nothing to do with the LTTE and its fanaticism.)