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Colombo alleges three deaths in LTTE firing at school

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: A day after the Government announced tougher laws to combat terrorism, Sri Lanka Army (SLA) accused the Tamil Tigers of indiscriminate firing directed at a school that led to the death of three persons in a village in Trincomalee district.

The SLA said in the first round of firing a teacher and 11 children were injured. It said some of the seriously injured have been airlifted to the Anuradhapura hospital. Again around 12.20 p.m. Tigers shelled the same area which killed three including a 10-year-old child and two civilians from the village.

"This provocative artillery fire is expected to continue as it is the usual practice of the Tiger Terrorists in a desperate bid to get cheap propaganda mileage. It has been the practice for the Tigers to take positions in the midst of people and fire small arms or hurl grenades at the Security Forces expecting them to retaliate". It said the motive behind the use of people as a cover is clear. "The Tigers have now gone a step further. They now locate their artillery in the densely populated areas so that troops will retaliate with artillery or indirect fire."

Civilians at risk

The SLA said the Tiger "pattern" of firing at the village and the school was brought to the notice of ICRC, SLMM and the U.N. representatives in the area and they were requested to instruct the Tigers to keep the civilians away from their gun positions to avoid any casualties to them during retaliatory fire.

However, TamilNet said the SLA launched artillery attacks towards LTTE-controlled Verugal, 14 km northwest of Vaharai and 27 km southeast of SLA-captured Sampoor. It said troops that moved 5 km inside LTTE territory into Kattumurivu, southwest of Vaharai, have stationed themselves in a school, following stiff LTTE resistance. "Heavy fighting ensued between SLA troops and LTTE fighters at Eachilampattu, 6 km north of Verugal, amid heavy artillery fire from SLA positions", according to LTTE military spokesman Irasiah Ilanthiryan.

Separately, the United States embassy here said it is deeply concerned over reports that fighting between Government forces and the LTTE in the Vaharai area has occurred dangerously close to civilian populations.

TamilNet further claimed that 13 civilians in Jaffna district were abducted within 24 hours after the Government reinstated the Prevention of Terrorism Act on Wednesday.

It said quoting unnamed residents of the area that armed men alleged belonging to the army and police abducted nine civilians from Valigamam on Wednesday night.

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