Navy reports confrontation off Mannar Sea

Sri Lanka navy sources say that two of its coastal patrol craft were fired upon by a boat that came along with a cluster of Indian Fishing vessels in the Gulf of Mannar . According to the sources one of the boats among the poaching Indian fishing vessels had pretended to be in distress and requested assistance from the Navy boats. When approached the boats had opened fire at the navy vessel, the sources added.

Navy Media Spokesman, Commander D.K.P. Dassanayake told defence.lk that, the LTTE terrorists any have hijacked the Indian fishing vessel or were simply disguised as fishermen. Also, he said that the over 200-300 Indian fishing trawlers enter into Sri Lankan waters per week despite the presence of the powerful Indian Navy and the Coastguards on the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) between the two countries.

Speaking further, Commander Dassanayake also stated that the Sri Lanka navy has been providing humanitarian assistance to Indian fishermen in distress whenever needed. However, the excessive poaching by the Indian fishing vessels has created a situation that terrorists can exploit, he said. There were ample instances where LTTE terrorists had hijacked Indian fishing vessels, murdered, maimed and harassed Indian fishermen due to this reason, he added.