Man shot dead by SLA inside Thandikulam HSZ

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 July 2006, 13:29 GMT]
An unidentified man was killed by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers inside Thandikulam High Security Zone (HSZ) near Vavuniya Sunday night, security sources said. The SLA said the dead man is a member of Liberation Tigers and that they had recovered a AK-47 rifle and a new brand of bullet magazine near the dead body. Civil society sources in Vavuniya, however, said that suspicious circumstances surround the killing, and that the dead body may belong to a civilian arrested by the SLA.

Vavuniya Police arranged the body to be transported to the Vavuniya Teaching Hospital Monday morning.

Vavuniya district judge, Mr Ilancheliyan, inspected the body at the hospital and ordered the Police to send the recovered firearm for forensic investigation. He also directed the Police to seek help of International Red Cross to identify the body, sources said.

Local residents said that no one is allowed entry into the HSZ after 5:30 p.m., and allege that the body is likely to belong to a civilian.