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Two Tamil Red Cross workers abducted, killed

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 June 2007, 12:27 GMT]
Two Tamil workers of Sri Lanka Red Cross from the east, Sinnarajah Shanmuganathan, 38, and Karthigesu Chandramohan, 28, who had come to Colombo for a training program in Tsunami work were abducted by men claiming to be Sri Lanka Police, Friday, and their bodies were found Sunday in Kiriella, Ratnapura, 95 km southeast of Colombo, sources in Colombo said.

Officer in Charge (OIC) of Kiriella Police, Mr Vijetunge told the media that the bodies will be transferred to the Colombo Red Cross Head Quarters after post mortem examinations.

Head of Sri Lanka Red Cross in Batticaloa, Mr Vasantharajah told the media that the the two were part of a group of six aid workers sent from Batticaloa for a training programme related to tsunami relief work on the 30th of May to Colombo.

After completing the training program on Thursday and Friday, the group had gone to the Fort Railway station at 6:30 p.m. Friday to take the 7:15 p.m. train to Batticaloa. A group of unknown Sinhala speaking men had examined the Identity cards and had taken Shanmuganathan and Chandramohan in a white van for "questioning," according to the other four members of the group. The leader of the aid workers had told the Sinhala speaking men that the two did not know Sinhala and that he could help in the questioning, but the men declined the offer, the leader of the group said.

Shanmuganathan joined the Red Cross in 1997, is from Vi'laavettaan Vavunatheevu and his current address is 141/5 St . Sebastian Road Batticaloa, and Chandramohan has been working with Red Cross from 1999, is from Ka'luwankerni and was living in 1/1 Main Road Batticaloa.

The killings have taken place while the investigations on the murders of 17 aid-workers from French NGO, Action Contre la Faim (Action Against Hunger, ACF) on 5 August 2006, allegedly by Sri Lanka's security forces, have stalled in Sri Lanka's judicial process.

External Links:

BBC:

Sri Lanka Red Cross staff killed

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