3 Tamil IDPs shot dead in Ea'raavoor

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 May 2007, 09:51 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers lying in ambush along a lake at Siththaa'ndi in Ea'raavoor police division in Batticaloa district shot dead three Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) including a woman, who had gone Sunday to check their cultivation.

Ponnusamy Sellathurai, 46, from Kudaaveddai, Eeralakulam, Nagalingam Thiruchelvam, 42, and Ms. Poopalapillai Poomani, 30, both from Perumaaveli, Siththaandi, were identified as the three shot dead.

Ea'raavoor police recovered the bodies Tuesday around 8:00 a.m. behind Panankaattu Maariamman Temple in Siththaandi on information given by persons who had seen the corpses.

The victims, Chena crop cultivators, had gone to see their cultivated lands which they had to flee from when the SLA launched offensives on the LTTE held area recently.

The bodies were recovered within SLA controlled area and close to an SLA sentry post.

Siththaandi is located 27 km northwest of Batticaloa.