
SLA attacks civilians in Jaffna and Trincomalee; 3 dead and 6 injured
The Sri Lankan Army (SLA) killed three civilians and injured six in four separate retaliatory attacks in Jaffna and Trincomalee. In some cases, the SLA tried to cover up the deaths by claiming the civilians died of grenade explosions, when it was clear they were shot.
Two civilians shot dead in Jaffna Kanapathy Murugesu (69) was shot dead by a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers near Odakkarai Lane, in Point Pedro on Thursday around 1.00 pm. Murugesu, a retired postal worker, is from Thunnalai North, Karaveddy, and was riding his bicycle after collecting his pension when he was shot and killed. His body was taken to Point Pedro General Hospital for postmortem examinations. Pasupathy Palani, father of two, was shot and killed by SLA after a grenade exploded nearby on KKS Road in Kokkuvil on Wednesday around 7.00 pm. The SLA attempted to blame the killing on the grenade explosion, when it was later revealed at the hospital that Palani was killed by gunshots. One civilian beaten to death in Trincomalee S Thanabalasingam (40) was beaten to death by a group of SLA soldiers Lingapuram in Seruvila division on Wednesday morning. Thanabalasingam, a farmer, was in his paddy fields when SLA soldiers from a nearby camp began beating him to death. When villagers came to know of this killing, they began protesting in front of the SLA camp in the area, and afterward SLMM visited the site. Six civilians injured by SLA open gunfire in Jaffna Following grenade explosions at two separate junctions in Jaffna, the SLA began opening fire in every direction, injuring six civilians and a few armed forces on Thursday morning.
The first grenade explosion took place at Parameswara junction on Palaly Road when unidentified gunmen threw a grenade at a military checkpoint around 11.00 am. The SLA opened fired in retaliation, injuring Nageswari Suganthini (28) from Kokkuvil, Visuvanathar Kathirgamalingam (60) a frequent volunteer at a village temple, Murugesu Suntharalingam, a traveler from Karainagar and Tharmalingam Rajakumar (16).
The second grenade attack took place at Thaddatheru junction on the KKS road, around 11.10 am. Kuttithamby Kanagaratnam (67) was wounded by shrapnel. SLA’s subsequent random fire injured N Satchithananthan (71) who lives near Jaffna Hindu College.
13 January 2006
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