By Shamindra Ferdinando
Amidst indiscriminate LTTE artillery attacks aimed at disrupting the October 10 general election in the Jaffna peninsula, the European Union Electoral Observation Mission [EUEOM] yesterday sent a two member delegation to monitor the "situation" there, EUEOM and military officials said.

Military spokesman Brigadier Sanath Karunaratne yesterday said that more civilians have fled their homes in the Thennamarachchi [North] and Vadamarachchy [South] following sporadic and indiscriminate artillery attacks. The LTTE renewed attacks on non-military targets last Saturday. Since then approximately 300 families have been forced to flee artillery attacks, Karunaratne said.

He said that the EUEOM delegation will be able to see the situation particularly the efforts made by the LTTE to disrupt the general election.

EUEOM spokesman Peter Cross said that the two Long Term Observers [LTOs] boarded civilian passenger vessel "City of Trinco" at Trincomalee on Wednesday and were expected to be at their "base" to start work by Thursday.

He said the EUEOM will not use military aircraft or any other government or military vehicle. The passenger vessel operates regularly between Trincomalee and Point Pedro under a tripartite agreement among the government, the LTTE and the International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC].

Cross said that the delegation will be based in Jaffna but will travel extensively in the Jaffna electoral district and if possible visit areas that were outside government control. "They will be there till the election day," Cross said.

EUEOM has deployed 28 LTOs, in teams of two.

Cross said that 40 more observers were scheduled to arrive in Colombo on Wednesday. These observers described as Short Term Observers [STOs] will be briefed today and deployed on the following day, he said. The STOs will be deployed in areas where the LTOs believe there could be serious problems.

Replying a question, Cross said that they have logistical problems with regard to the deployment of delegates in the Jaffna peninsula. "We have a limited number of seats in the ship that operates between Trincomalee and Jaffna," he said stressing that whatever the limitations, the EUEOM was determined to do all within its power to guarantee free and fair general election.

Brigadier Karunaratne said that security forces have been able to repulse a series of LTTE attacks on their front line positions in the Kilali-Muhamulai sector. These attacks, Karunaratne pointed out were aimed at driving the security forces out of their forward positions and create a crisis situation similar to the one that existed in the April-May period.

Karunaratne said that the situation was under control. Despite indiscriminate artillery attacks, the civilians continued to remain within the government controlled area, he said stressing that the security forces in Jaffna will do everything possible to hold the general election.

There were over 148,000 families in the government held area in the Jaffna electoral district.

Police and military officials said that they have stepped up operations against the LTTE as part of the ongoing efforts to prevent any major LTTE attack in the North and the East or Colombo. Political sources said that the government has told the security forces top brass that they must do whatever possible to prevent the LTTE from mounting a major attack on the forces or non-military targets in the run upto the election.

Meanwhile, police on Tuesday carried out an attack on an LTTE forward base at Kanjikudichiaru in the Akkaraipattu area, police headquarters said yesterday. Terrorists operating out of this base were believed to have been engaged in planning attacks on election day, the sources said. Police commandos shot dead three terrorists during the brief assault and recovered three T56 weapons and a small quantity of ammunition.