Police officer shot dead

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 July 2001, 09:10 GMT]
A Sri Lankan police officer was shot dead Sunday by unidentified attackers, believed to be members of the Liberation Tigers, at Aalankerni, a suburb in Kinniya, about 10 km. north west of Trincomalee town, said police sources.

Anwerkhan Liyakath, a Sub-inspector of Police was shot dead around 8 a.m. while he was returning to his village, Kurinchakerni after duty, police said. He was the officer-in-charge of the Alankerni police post.

Alankerni is a Tamil village in the Kinniya division where hundreds of Tamil refugees from Upparu are living in welfare centres.

The villagers were evicted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in March 1998, because, according to the SLA, Upparu could be used by the Liberation Tigers as a staging post for attacks on SLA camps in the area.

Thereafter the police established a security post at Alankerni village.