May 7,2007:
In the north, skirmishing continues to result in up to a hundred
casualties a day. Both sides have
patrols out trying to gather information on enemy defenses and plans. The air force is using information gathered
by these patrols to launch more effective bombing attacks. A major push against
the LTTE in the north is expected eventually. But with the falling morale of
the LTTE fighters, waiting for more of them to surrender is another option.
May 5,
2007: In eastern Sri Lanka, hundreds of LTTE fighters continue to battle
soldiers and police. Few of these LTTE diehards seem inclined to surrender, and
it appears most of them will keep fighting until captured or killed.
May 4,
2007: Off the north coast, the navy sank two LTTE boats. The LTTE is having an
increasingly difficult time getting ammo and other supplies out of southern
India and into Sri Lanka.
May 3,
2007: India is installing more radars on
its southern coast, to better monitor LTTE movements between India and Sri
Lanka.
May 1,
2007: Australian police began making
arrests in the Tamil expatriate community, in an effort to halt illegal LTTE
fundraising. About a quarter of the $10-20 million a year raised by the LTTE is
believed to come from Tamils in Australia. There, the police appear to have
infiltrated the fund raising network, and recruited informers to provide
detailed information. As is the case in other countries with Tamil expatriate
populations, the fund raisers use coercion to get the money. Since the LTTE is
considered a terrorist organization, these coercive tactics were particularly
troubling to the Australian police. The
fund raisers were also found to be involved with credit card fraud and
smuggling (drugs and people). Meanwhile,
in Switzerland, fighting between factions of the Tamil community left at least
six injured, before police could intervene. The police crackdowns in most Tamil
exile communities has created sharp, and violent, divisions in those
communities.