UXO claims life of 30-year-old man in Jaffna, 2 boys wounded

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 September 2013, 23:48 GMT]
A 30-year-old man was killed and two 17-year-old boys were seriously wounded on Tuesday around 10:30 a.m., at former Forward Defence Line in Mukamaalai in Jaffna. Mr Suthaharan Atputharasa, who was driving the tractor, was killed on the spot. The tragic blast comes after the UN office for humanitarian de-mining coordination in Jaffna has been closed down and the remaining humanitarian agencies involved in de-mining are under pressure to wind up their activities before the end of this year. The occupying SL military, which is converting the former High Security Zones (HSZ) into Sinhala Military Zones (SMZ), is in control of the entire process of de-mining.

The tractor was thrown away in the blast caused by the unexploded ordnance, which is believed to be a pressure activated mine, news sources in Thenmaraadchi said.

The wounded boys were identified as 17-year-old Suthaharan Kuhanathan and Nirojan Thuraisingam from A’raththi-nakar in Allip-pazhai.

Four months ago, a Halo Trust worker lost his life in a landmine explosion while he was engaged in de-mining at Mukamaalai.

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