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| Wednesday, 29 September 2004 |
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LTTE continues killings, shootings by Ranil Wijayapala Latest reports from the North-East confirm that during the last few weeks the LTTE pistol gang members have stepped up their terror campaign against political groups and civilians holding anti-LTTE views. According to military sources the latest victim was reported on Monday evening in Sevanapitiya in Welikanda where a Sinhala civilian was shot in the mouth by suspected LTTE pistol gang members for his alleged connections with the Karuna faction cadres in Batticaloa. Dickman Mel alias Kalu, a 36-year-old widower and a father of four who used to earn his livelihood hiring a van in Sevenapitiya was shot in his mouth by suspected LTTE pistol men around 9.30 on Monday night. He was later admitted to the Polonnaruwa hospital in a serious condition. The gunmen has also damaged his van, sources added. LTTE pistol gang members also killed Valli Sunderam (66) a former EPRLF member of the Valikamam North Pradeshiya Sabha on Monday afternoon, Police said. He was riding a motorcycle on the Kankesanthurai road between Maruthanamadam and Inuvil when two gunmen on a motorbike fired at him with a handgun. Sunderam is a resident of Myliddy, Jaffna. Earlier on Saturday, the LTTE pistol gang shot M. Mohammed Anser an ex-soldier in Eravur, Batticaloa. He was shot by the suspected LTTE pistol gang members when he was on his way to a boutique in Savukkadi. He was later admitted to the Batticaloa hospital. The Eelam People's Democratic Party in their protest against these LTTE atrocities left the coffin of their slain member Somasuntheram Weerasingham outside the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo on Monday. The EPDP urged the Norwegian facilitators to take immediate action to put a stop to the killings continued by the LTTE against their political opponents. President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga also took up the issue of LTTE's killings spree against their political opponents when she met Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen in New York. Meanwhile, the Government on Monday reiterated its official stance to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission that the Security Forces were not willing to pull back the Nagarkovil Forward Defence Line (FDL) in Jaffna peninsula as requested by the SLMM. Defence Secretary Cyril Herat told the Daily News following a discussion with Security Forces on Monday, that they informed the SLMM about the Government decision. He said SLMM Chief Major General (Rtd) Trond Furuhovde was scheduled to take up the issue with the LTTE Political Wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan at the Bandaranaike International Airport last night. SLMM Chief Furuhovde was scheduled to meet LTTE Political Wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan at Katunayake airport before the latter's departure for Europe. Defence Secretary Cyril Herat said since the Sri Lanka Army had not moved the FDL there was no need to pull back the FDL as requested by the SLMM. The Sri Lanka Army during the last few months continuously complained to the SLMM about the LTTE constructing bunkers and moving their fence towards the no man's land. The truce monitors also observed the construction of bunkers by the LTTE. The SLMM too earlier accepted that the two FDLs in Nagarkovil were too close since there was only a 30 metre-gap between the two FDLs and suggested to the two parties to pull back the FDLs by mutual agreement to maintain the earlier gap between the two FDLs. SLMM Deputy Chief Hagrup Haukland told the Daily News that they have been informed of the Government's decision expressing their opposition to pulling back the FDL. Haukland said the issue should be taken up with the two parties since both parties are claiming the other party had moved their FDL towards the no man's land. ******* Woman dies in factional clashes At least six Wanni LTTE cadres and a civilian woman were killed yesterday in the Panichchankerni area in Batticaloa as Karuna faction cadres launched an attack on a LTTE checkpoint in Panichchankerni, 1.5 kilometres away from last Army checkpoint in Kajuwatta. According to military sources one civilian woman who was injured in the attack succumbed to her injuries at the Batticaloa hospital last afternoon. She was among the two women with gunshot injuries who entered the Government controlled areas through the Kajuwatta entry/exit point following the incident. The other woman now undergoing treatment at the Valachchenai hospital. |
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