"White van" squad kills 2 civilians, wounds 2 in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 September 2006, 02:27 GMT]
Gunmen riding in a white van without a number plate shot dead two civilians in Jaffna Wednesday. A civilian shopping at a grocery in Thirunelvely and a young man who owns a video shop on Adiyapatham lane in the same area were the victims. Two civilians were seriously wounded and rushed to Jaffna hospital. Fear psychosis prevails in Jaffna following the resurfacing of "white van" squads and the increased number of extra-judicial killings by Sri Lanka Army men in civil cloths.

Around 7:30, Tuesday morning, the gunmen riding in a white van without registration number, shot dead Satkunarajah Suganthan, 22, of Nallur Kovil Road, Thirunelvely, while the victim was shoping at Thalankavil Pillayar Kovil Road within the Jaffna Municipal limits. An old woman, who was also buying things at the shop, was injured and admitted to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital in a serious condition for treatment.

Around 9 a.m., 300 meters away from the above scene, another youth, Sivarasa Sivasekaran, 22, a video shop owner was shot by the same persons travelling in the white van without registration number while he was opening his shop for the day. Having seen him struggling with injuries, the attackers reversed their vehicle and sprayed him with bullets to make sure that he was alive no more.

A civilian, S. Puvanenthiran, 55, from Meesalai- Urumparai area, who was cycling to the market, was shot by unidentified persons and later admitted to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital for treatment.