Civilians killed in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Two civilians were killed and two wounded when a shell fired by the Special Task Force (STF) from Manmunai, during its operation on June 29, hit a house at Makiladitheevu, 18 km Southwest of Batticaloa, said sources there. Manmunai is 12 km south of Batticaloa.

Eliyathamby Yasothini (18) a resident in the house died instantly, while her sister Eliyathambi Jeevarani (14), died on admission to Polannaruwa Hospital. Their father, K. Eliyathamby (46), lost the use of both his legs.

Kanapathipillai, another resident, was also wounded in the shelling.

K. Eliyathamby, a fisherman, has four dependants, the sources said.

The Sri Lankan security forces carried out an operation in the villages of Kokkadicholai, Thikodai and Senthimalai in Batticaloa on June 29.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Defence said seven Liberation Tigers were killed and several LTTE camps were destroyed in the operation.

The Sri Lankan government has imposed strict censorship on the reporting of military activity. This, combined with the ban on correspondents entering the war zone has made it impossible to independently verify events taking place there.

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