Soldiers abducted by the LTTE freed
[October 10, 2002  - 11.00 GMT]

The LTTE Wednesday released six soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army abducted by them on September 25. Earlier one soldier was released on humanitarian grounds. Their release came after the Trincomalee Magistrate released on bail yesterday two LTTE cadres arrested on September 2 by the Kantalai Police for carrying arms in a government controlled area. 

The Court of Appeal on Tuesday granted bail to the two suspects and directed that they be released on a cash bail of Rs. 25,000 each and two sureties who would be satisfactory to the Trincomalee Magistrate. 

"This is a solution that both parties can live with and the SLMM can live with even though we asked for an unconditional release of the soldiers," Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) spokesman, Teitur Torkelsson, said.  

“Soon after the bailed-out cadres reached the LTTE office in Trincomalee both the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Army contacted the ICRC to carry out the rest of the ‘procedure’ in freeing the detained soldiers,” ICRC spokesman Sukumar Rockwood said. 

The soldiers, held captive for two weeks were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at 5.10pm Wednesday at Kumburupiddi, 20 km north of Trincomalee. They were in turn handed over to the Monkey Bridge Army Camp.

The LTTE abducted the seven soldiers engaged in collecting sand at Vilgamvehera - a "disputed area" on September 25, and demanded the release of two cadres arrested by the Sri Lanka Police under the Offensive Weapons Act in exchange.

The Court of Appeal has instructed that the two LTTE cadres released on bail should report to the Kantalai Police every second Saturday of the month.

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Last Updated Date: October 10, 2002  - 11.00 GMT.