Batticaloa youth shot dead

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
An unidentified youth riding a bicycle was shot dead by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) at Viloontrikovil, near Vantharamoolai, 15 km north of Batticaloa around 5:00 p.m. yesterday, said ex-militant sources in Europe when contacted by TamilNet last night.

The man was shot when he had refused to obey orders to stop at an SLA checkpoint, and had allegedly attempted to lob a grenade, said the sources.

The body, now lying at the Eravur Hospital, has not been identified and will be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to be delivered to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said the sources.