COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Gunmen fatally shot two ethnic Tamils and a Sinhalese man in separate attacks in Sri Lanka’s volatile east, hours before a planned visit on Saturday by presidential candidate and current Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, police said.
The Tamil men, both aged 23, were shot dead by unidentified gunmen just before midnight in Valaichchenai village, 220 kilometers (135 miles) east of the capital, Colombo, said Rohan Abeywardene, the region’s top police chief.
Around six hours later, an ice-cream seller, belonging to the Sinhalese majority was shot dead in the neighboring eastern district of Ampara.
The fresh outbreak of violence came as Rajapakse prepared to travel to the coastal village of Oluvil, in Ampara, to address an election rally.
Security has been bolstered by special anti-terrorist commandos and the police ahead of his visit, Abeywardene said.
He said while the violence is unlikely to have an impact on the premier’s visit, “we are not taking any chances.” Rajapakse will contest presidential elections expected on Nov. 17.
Authorities suspect the latest violence was linked to feuding between militant groups.
The split in the Tamil Tiger rebels in March 2004, sparked internecine clashes that have killed scores, mainly in Sri Lanka’s east. In recent months, the fighting has spilled over into the capital.
The Tamil Tigers began an armed insurrection in 1983, demanding a separate state for Tamils in Sri Lanka’s northeast and claiming discrimination by the Sinhalese.
The conflict killed more than 65,000 people before a Norway-brokered cease-fire was signed in 2002. Subsequent peace talks have been stalled since 2003 due to disagreements over power-sharing.
European truce monitors have warned the escalating violence could plunge the island back to war.
(Khaleej Times Online 2005/10/01)
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