Sri Lankan security forces ramp up surveillance in Mullivaikkal

Several checkpoints have been set up in and around Mullivaikkal by the Sri Lankan police and military, as Tamil genocide remembrance day on May 18 draws closer.

 17 May 2020

More than ten intelligence officers have taken over an unoccupied house near the Mullivaikkal memorial monument and have been undertaking surveillance and photographing those who come to the monument and telling them to leave immediately.

Two new military checkpoints have been set up in the area. One checkpoint in Irattaivaikkal, the area where Mullivaikkal starts, has been used to register all passing road users. A large number of troops were also deployed in front of the Vadduvakal bridge to man a new checkpoint.

A police checkpoint has also been set up on the Paranthan-Mullaitivu main road, at the start of the lane leading up to the Mullivaikkal monument.

Organisers of memorial events planned for Monday have said they will still go ahead with the remembrance event with appropriate safety precautions put in place.