Tigers massacre civilians
A 30-member LTTE unit brutally hacked to death 14 Sinhalese civilians and
injured seven others on 11 June at Lunuoya, 17 miles north of Puttalam near the
Wilpattu wildlife sanctuary. The assailants used machetes and according to a
survivor a house with eight bodies inside was set ablaze. Those killed included
four children. Reports say six villagers were dragged into the nearby jungle and
hacked to death.
Villagers say they sought help from a police post close to the village but were
turned away. A day earlier the LTTE attacked a security post in Peymadu, east of
Wilpattu in Anuradhapura District killing four Home Guards and a soldier.
Inaction by security forces has created suspicions. North-Western Province Chief
Minister Nimal Bandara has called on President Chandrika to order an inquiry into
the incident.
Amnesty International accuses the Tigers of deliberately and arbitrarily killing
Sinhalese civilians solely on the basis of their ethnicity. At a meeting with Amnesty
in London on the same day of the massacre, Tiger representatives denied that it
was an LTTE policy to kill Sinhalese civilians. But the LTTE has thus far not
responded to AmnestyÆs call to issue a clear statement condemning killing of
civilians.
Observers believe, after the loss of Jaffna, western Sri Lanka may become a major
LTTE operational area. A large number of Sea Tigers have moved into the
Kalpitty area and displacement of civilians continues from islands between Kalpitty
and Kudremalai Point. Sea Tigers seized several boats loaded with goods in the
Kalpitty area in early June. Reports say the Tigers have also established camps
deep in the Wilpattu jungles.
North of Wilpattu in Mannar District the Army controls the Mannar Island and a
coastal strip on the mainland. The LTTE often infiltrates the Mannar Island.
Tigers hijacked a government van between Siruthoppu and Olaithoduvai on 11
June. A government officer who was returning in the van after supervising
unloading of dry rations from Colombo at Pesalai and the driver were held for 12
hours before being released.
Around 10,000 refugees displaced from Jaffna now live in Mannar District.
According to reports a ferry service will be arranged by the government for
returning refugees. Around 35 people, mostly government officers have registered
to return.
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