Two Tamil youths shot dead in Mannar

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 July 2006, 10:56 GMT]
Two youths were shot dead by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers Monday morning in Mannar district in two separate incidents during a cordon and search operation. One body was found in a paddy field opposite the Nanattan Pradesiya Sabha (PS) office building and the other body at Rasool Puthuveli area, located one and half km off Nanattan, police sources said.

A group of SLA soldiers on patrol duty in Sooriyakaddaiakadu in Nanattan Monday morning around 8:30 p.m. fired at an unidentified person allegedly for placing a claymore mine on their route. But the person had fled from the area. Thereafter SLA soldiers had launched a cordon and search operation in the area.

During the search operation the soldiers were attacked with grenade followed by firing. SLA soldiers retaliated.

Later the Police found the body of a person in a paddy field located two hundred yards away from the Nanattan PS office building, sources said.

Police said they also recovered a T 56 gun, a micro-pistol and grenade near the body.

SLA troopers came under gunfire second time around 12:30 p.m. when they continued their search operation. They retaliated and later found a person with gunshot injuries on his head at Rasool Puthuveli located about one and half km off Nanattan. The troopers told police that they had recovered a micro-pistol and a grenade, also from this youth.

The dead youth in the first incident that took place Monday morning was identified by the Murunkan Police as Ravi with his identity card, police said.

Mannar Acting Magistrate Mr.A.S.Johnthasan Monday afternoon visited the site of the bodies and instructed the Murunkan Police to remove them to the Mannar general hospital for identification and post-mortem examination, police said.