Lanka mines sea borders to block Tamil Tigers

by K Praveen Kumar

The Sri Lankan Navy is believed to have laid mines along its maritime borders in an attempt to prevent LTTE cadre from fleeing to Tamil Nadu coast.

Highly placed sources said that the Tamil Nadu Police has received ‘unofficial information’ regarding this. “We learnt unofficially that the Sri Lankan Navy has mined their maritime border.

So we have warned fishermen not to cross the international boundary line for fishing,” a police official from Ramanathapuram told this website's newspaper. However, fishermen are said to be agitated about the move, as they get a good catch only when they cross the maritime boundary.

But the State police see it as a welcome move that could bolster their efforts to prevent incursion of the Tamil Tigers into the State. Since the crisis in Sri Lanka worsened, the LTTE cadre have been trying to flee to Tamil Nadu.

Sources said that several Lankan Tamils found it safer to cross the seas to Tamil Nadu, making use of its vast and highly porous coastline.

“Many Lankan Tamils are trying to escape, not only because of the fear of air raids, but also because of the fear of LTTE, which is now on a desperate recruitment drive,” sources said.

Source: newindpress.com