Child killed in SLA's retaliatory fire

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
A six year old child was killed and a man was wounded at Kiran, 20 km north of Batticaloa around 10.00 a.m. yesterday, when the Sri Lankan Army (SLA), opened up mortar and small arms fire from Paalathadi camp near the Valaichenai lagoon in retaliation to shelling by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said sources in Valaichenai.

Three shells fired by the LTTE fell on the Paalaththadi SLA camp. The LTTE firing lasted for about 15 minutes.

The dead child was identified as Peethaambaram Sashikala (6), a student of Kiran Vivekananda Viththiyalayam. She was killed while walking on the road with her father.

The injured man was identified as S. Vadivel (52). His leg was fractured in the firing.

The road from Kiran across the lagoon towards Thoppiagala is used by farmers to go to their paddy fields. The Paalaththady SLA camp acts as a check point for the public going from Kiran towards the Tiger controlled areas.