2ND LEAD (Correction)

Uprooted Vanni civilian shot dead, first killing in Jaffna after May 2009

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 May 2010, 17:51 GMT]
A 26-year-old male, Sivalingam Satheesan, an uprooted civilian who settled in Jaffna after leaving the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) operated internment camp in Vavuniyaa, has been gunned down on Jaffna - Point Pedro Road Sunday around 7:30 p.m. by armed men riding a motorbike. The killing has taken place in SLA-guarded road near Ceylinco insurance company and Vadamaraadchi telecommunication building. This is the first killing by gunmen reported in Jaffna after the Eelam War - 4 ended in May 2009 in Vanni. The targeted killing of Vanni IDP comes in the wake of a recent visit by Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to Jaffna. Tension prevails in the area.

The victim had fled Jaffna following harassment by the Sri Lanka Army after 2004 elections in which he campaigned actively for the Tamil National Alliance. He displaced to Vanni and later ended up in the internment camp for civilians in Cheddiku'lam.

Mr. Sabesan had resettled in Thumpa'lai village, a northern most village in the peninsula.

He was planning to open a hardware shop at Nelliyadi while he was gunned down, according to Nelliyadi Police.