LTTE Headquarters,
                                                Tamil Eelam.
                                                01. August 1997

PRESS RELEASE 
NEWS FROM TAMIL EELAM
                                           
LTTE Headquarters, LTTE STOPS RENEWED ARMY ADVANCE IN ITS TRACKS
	An LTTE counter-strike left Sri Lankan forces reeling as they
	attempted a tentative march forward from their stalled Jaya
	Sikuru positions short of Puliyankulam. Sri Lankan forces backed
	by heavy artillery and moving in battle-tanks and armoured
	vehicles had attempted a sudden push towards their goal of
	Puliyankulam but LTTE forces hit back decisively, halting the
	invading forces in their tracks. The foiled army advance was
	followed by intense artillery shelling of the Tamil towns of
	Puliyankulam, Kanakarayankulam, Karipattamurippu and Oddusuddan,
	which lasted till late evening.
	
WARPLANES STRIKE TAMIL CIVILIAN CENTRES
	Sri Lankan Kfir warplanes yesterday blasted coastal settlements
	between Chundikulam and Maththalan forcing the Tamil inhabitants
	to flee inland. The planes later flew to Nedunkerni where the
	occupying Sinhala army - belonging to the stalled Jaya Sikuru
	operation - is camped. The Nedunkerni ground-based forces
	meanwhile heavily shelled surrounding Tamil residences, while the
	Kfirs went on to target nearby jungle settlements. There are
	believed to be civilian casualties.
	
KILINOCHCHI ARMY INVOLVED IN HUNDREDS OF SAVAGE KILLINGS
	Over 100 Tamil civilians have been killed in recent times while
	inspecting their former homes in army-captured parts of
	Kilinochchi (Uruthirapuram, Selvanakar and Parathipuram).
	Innocent trips to recover valuables have ended up as ordeals
	where people have been attacked by knife-wielding Sinhala
	soldiers who spare no one, or else shoot people dead on sight.
	Many of the Tamil victims have been later found by worried
	relatives who often discover the mutilated bodies of their loved
	ones lying on the roadside. Parts of these areas in Kilinochchi
	are littered with corpses and skeletons. Many more Tamil
	civilians have gone missing at the hands of these troops, where
	they are presumed dead or facing torture.
	
REMAINS OF SCHOOL BOY FOUND
	Residents have found the dead body of a school boy still dressed
	in his school uniform 300 yards from the office of the assistant
	government agent of Vavunathivu (Batticaloa). It has been
	confirmed that the body belongs to a boy who was recently
	arrested by the Sinhala armed forces occupying the area. He had
	been taken away with a number of other boys whose fate remains
	unknown.
	
Political Committee,
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
	
(English translation of the LTTE statement released by LTTE
International Secretariat, 211 Katherine Road, London E6 1BU,
United Kingdom.  Tel:0181- 503 4294)