STF shells Batticaloa temple

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 June 2006, 06:11 GMT]
Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) troopers, from Pulukunavai camp, shelled Thanthamalai Murugan temple, located in Liberation Tigers controlled territory southwest of Batticaloa, where Saiva devotees gathered Friday evening for voluntary preparation work ahead of annual festivals.

No one was wounded in the STF shelling.

The STF troopers, fearing retaliatory shelling by the Liberation Tigers towards their positions, ordered the civilians from the 36th Colony Sinhala settlement to seek refuge at a school building, civilian sources said.

The devotees gathered for the voluntary work on Friday at the temple site sought shelter inside the temple and fled the site when the shelling ceased, villagers said.