Tamils Killed In Sri Lanka Attack

BBC News

April 19, 2006

Five Tamils have been shot dead in northern Sri Lanka as efforts to revive peace talks continue, officials say.

Police found the bodies of the men near Jaffna. The TamilNet website blamed the military, who have not commented.

Meanwhile, at least four people were hurt in two mine attacks in the north, police say. More than 60 people have died in attacks in the last week.

In Colombo, a Norwegian special envoy met officials as part of efforts to salvage talks with Tamil Tiger rebels.

Jon Hanssen-Bauer will travel to Tiger-held territory on Thursday.

The rebels have suspended participation in peace talks scheduled for Switzerland next week because of what they say are restrictions on their movements.

'State violence'

Police found the bodies of the five Tamils with gunshot wounds on Wednesday near Puttur on the Jaffna peninsula.

The pro-rebel TamilNet website said soldiers had shot and killed the men on Tuesday night.

"The soldiers took the five civilians... into their camp and later brought them out to open terrain and gunned them down, villagers said," it reported.

Earlier on Wednesday, the rebels accused troops and paramilitary groups of killing five Tamil civilians in separate attacks on Monday.

A rebel statement said fear was widespread in Batticaloa and Jaffna districts and Tamil civilians were the target of "state violence".

"In almost all of the incidents, state security and military forces were in close proximity to the killings and did not take any action," the statement said.

Wednesday's two mine blasts were the latest in a series of attacks over the last 10 days, in which many members of the security forces have been killed.

Two sailors were hurt in one of the claymore mine attacks in northern Mannar district, the military said.

Previous mine attacks have been blamed on the rebels, who have denied involvement.

The BBC's Dumeetha Luthra in Colombo says few in Sri Lanka believe them.

She says the role of paramilitaries is seen by analysts as the real issue behind the talks pullout by the rebels, who accuse the government of supporting a breakaway faction.

Tamils flee

Meanwhile, about 1,000 people are now known to have left their homes in the north-eastern port town of Trincomalee after a surge in violence in the area.

Hundreds of residents are taking shelter in schools and churches after Sinhala mobs burned Tamil homes.

Trincomalee has seen some of the worst of the conflict in the past 12 days and increasing communal tensions have raised fears of more bloodshed.

Reviving Sri Lanka's stalled negotiations is considered vital to strengthen a battered four-year ceasefire.

A surge in attacks in the north and east at the turn of the year abated after agreement was secured to hold talks in February, but violence has risen again in recent weeks.

The Tamil Tigers want autonomy for minority Tamils in the north and east of Sri Lanka. More than 60,000 people have died during two decades of conflict.