Police curfew disrupts normal life in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 August 2005, 05:50 GMT]
All roads in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled areas in Jaffna district almost deserted due to the police curfew imposed from Thursday night around 8.30 p.m. Schools did not function. Government offices did not open. Normalcy has been disrupted, civil and media sources in Jaffna said. Along KKS road near the Inuvil Kandasamy Temple vicinity large contingent of Sri Lanka Army soldiers and policemen has been deployed since Thursday night. Several riot police squads are kept in readiness to quell any disturbance, Police said. All transport services to and from Jaffna have come to a standstill. The curfew will be lifted on Saturday morning 5 a.m. police said.

Some isolated incidents such as burning tyres and placing roadblocks along Point Pedro and other areas were reported Friday morning, sources said.

In Jaffna town police personnel were seen enforcing the curfew-directing crowd of people in some areas to disperse and ordering traders to close their establishments. In Nelliyady, police ordered the shops to put up their shutters, sources said.

The Police imposed the curfew Thursday evening following the killing of Mr. Charles Wijewardene, Jaffna Superintendent of Police by an angered crowd after the killing of a saloon employee by SLA army soldiers.