SLA guns down two civilians in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 December 2005, 14:08 GMT]
Two civilians from Thoppu, in Atchuvely Jaffna, who went to hunt wild boars in shrub jungles close to the Palaly High Security Zone (HSZ) armed with shotguns, were shot dead by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops at 12.15 a.m Sunday early morning, sources in Jaffna said.

Shrub jungles close to the HSZs have become a menace to the local farmers as wild boars have mulitiplied in numbers destroying crops nearby. Besides, the meat is a speciality among villagers.

In another incident, Ariyaratnam Kanagarasa (65) from Siththankerny in Jaffna, an employee at a bakery in Navakeeri located along the Punnalaikattuvan- Nilavarai road was found shot to death at 1.45 a.m. Sunday morning.

His body was found on Palaly road near Punnalaikattuvan junction and was not removed until noon Sunday as Police in Jaffna have refused carrying out administrative duties.

Motive for the killing is not known.

Meanwhile, an SLA patrol along the beach road in Urani, Valvettithurai (VVT) came under grenade attack followed by gunfire from three unidentified gunmen at 9 a.m. Sunday. The gunmen escaped and no injuries were reported. SLA soldiers started attacking civilians and fired indiscriminately around the Valvettiturai Government Hospital. Vehicular traffic came to a halt along the Point Pedro-Jaffna road till noon, sources from VVT said.