Two civilians who came under attack by LTTE gunmen in the general un-cleared area of Valachchena on Saturday (2) died on the spot, a complaint made to the Police by a civilian stated.
One of the victims, Tambiah Mannavan (32) of Umaliyavadu, Madurankulam, Valachchena was a farmer and talking to a section of LTTE breakaway members in his compound when armed LTTE gunmen of the Wanni faction stormed the place and shot at him indiscriminately, a news release form the Sri Lanka Army said yesterday.
During the shooting, another unknown member of the LTTE breakaway group who was present at that time received gunshots and died on the spot, according to the complainant, Kumara Muttu Gurashi (30) of Umaliyavadu, Madurankulam, Valachcena.
Those armed LTTE assailants afterwards brought a tractor and took away the remains of the victims towards un-cleared areas in Vakarai for reasons obvious only to the LTTE.
The complainant who was an eye-witness to the incident had further alleged that the group of assailants comprising about 100-150 armed LTTE men showed up at the location when the firing took place.
The Valachchena Police were to keep the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission informed of the slayings.
(http://www.island.lk/2004/10/06/news2.html)
