The Hindu : International : Two killed in internecine attacks in Batticaloa

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Sunday, Mar 06, 2005

International

International

Two killed in internecine attacks in Batticaloa

By V.S. Sambandan

COLOMBO, MARCH 5. Two persons were killed and three injured in three internecine attacks in Sri Lanka's troubled eastern Batticaloa district today.

A member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), `Maj.' Pushparaj, was shot dead by supporters of the former LTTE special commander, V. Muralitharan, in the eastern Batticaloa district. Two LTTE cadres were injured in the attack. Supporters of the LTTE's former Special Commander, `Col.' Karuna, who led a rebellion a year ago, claimed responsibility for the killing. The LTTE, however, was quoted as saying that its member was ``killed in ambush'' by the Army.

In another attack earlier in the day, suspected LTTE gunmen shot dead Mayilvaganam Pulenthiran, on the outskirts of Batticaloa at 11 a.m.

The motive behind the slaying of Pulenthiran is not clear. Police sources described him as a ``suspected cadre of the Karuna group.'' However, supporters of `Col.' Karuna said he was not attached to them, and was probably killed by the LTTE for misleading them.

The day started on a note of violence, when a suspected LTTE gunman shot Kandiah Ganeshalingam (26) a member of the People's Liberation Organisation for Tamil Eelam (PLOTE).

Mr. Ganeshalingam, who was attacked in Batticaloa at 9.10 a.m., was airlifted to Colombo for medical treatment. The PLOTE said it had named the LTTE as the group responsible for the attack in a complaint with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM).

In another incident, a group of Muslims protested outside Pullumodai Army/Police camp in the eastern Trincomalee district. According to Army sources, the protest was over the arrest of a Muslim resident, Rifaideen, for possessing a T-56 automatic rifle, which he claimed to have ``recovered'' after it was washed ashore in the wake of the December 26 tsunami. Clashes between two migratory Muslim fishing communities and an ``allegation'' that the Army had dug out skeletons from a nearby graveyard were cited as other reasons for the protest this evening. The Army said the situation was ``under control.''

Jaffna returns to normality

The situation in Jaffna town, which witnessed sporadic rioting on Friday, was normal today with no reports of mob violence, army and civilian sources said.

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