LTTE-Muslim leaders meet to diffuse tension in Muttur

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 December 2005, 16:46 GMT]
A Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) delegation led by Trincomalee district political head Mr.S.Elilan and a delegation of Muslim civil leaders led by Moulavi Careem, President of the Muttur Mosque Federation, met Sunday evening at Kaddaiparichchan in the presence of Mr. Arthur Tveiten, head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and explored ways to diffuse escalating tension in Muttur division following several violent incidents which resulted in the death of five persons from both communities, sources said.

The discussion facilitated by the SLMM commenced around five in the evening and continued for about an hour, sources said.

Both parties agreed to take urgent efforts to bring normalcy to the area, sources said.

Violence in Muttur erupted on Saturday after with the shooting incident in which a Muslim person Haja Mohideen was injured. Thereafter two Tamil civilians were hacked to death and another Tamil civilian was seriously injured when their three-wheeler was stopped and burnt by a mob.

Tension increased in Muttur town when the Police recovered three bodies of Muslim persons from an abandoned well Sunday morning, sources said.

SLMM immediately rushed to the site and organized the discussion, sources said.