Several Tamil shops attacked Muslims in violent protest in A'pattu by Norman Palihawadana and Shamindra Ferdinando

An attack on several Tamil shops in Akkaraipattu Wednesday night and an earlier LTTE bid to prevent Muslims from cultivating land at Vattamadu, south of the town, triggered a violent protest by Muslims on Thursday.Authoritative sources said that a group of men targeted several Tamil-owned shops following a musical show Wednesday night. "We believe the attack was aimed at provoking local Tamils," the sources said. The sources didn't rule out the possibility of the attackers being supporters of a politician representing the Ampara district.A group of Muslims who went to plough land in Vattamadu earlier in the week had been turned back by Tamils. A tractor belonging to the Muslims too had been detained. The sources didn't rule out the possibility of the Muslims who were prevented from ploughing land having a hand in the attack on the shops. But a Muslim villager lodged a complaint with police claiming that LTTE cadres prevented him from ploughing Vattamadu land as he had not obtained their permission.Hundreds of Muslims protested on Thursday at Tirukkovil demanding an immediate end to what a senior military official termed a deliberate attempt to drive away the Muslims. About 1500 Muslims were involved in the protest.They set fire to tyres, blocking traffic in and out of the area, he said. Schools, banks, shops, all private and state sector agencies were closed. Police backed by the STF prevented any violent incidents. A senior official said they discussed ways and means of resolving the dispute with the LTTE and the Scandinavian truce monitors. Thursday's protest is the first after Karuna quit the LTTE in early March this year.The renegade LTTE commander Karuna made a determined bid to resolve outstanding land disputes. In an obvious bid to woo the Muslims living in the region, Karuna offered to discuss contentious land issues. He also offered to return the land and herds of cattle taken over by the group.The parties to the Oslo-arranged Cease-Fire Agreement (CFA) agreed to set up three joint committees to review land and related issues in the East.