Civilian killed in broad daylight

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 February 1999, 22:02 GMT]
A civilian who was on his way to invite relatives for his child's birthday was shot dead by an SLA ambush party yesterday around 7.30 a.m. near Kiran, 28 km. north of Batticaloa.

Sinnathamby Wijayakumar had set out in the morning from his village, Kinnaiyadi, on the outskirts of Valaichenai, to Santhiveli, his wife's village with invitations for his child's birthday party.

He was cycling on the interior road at Villukkaddu, when an ambush party from the army camp at Kumburumoolai lobbed a grenade at him and opened fire.

Wijayakumar was killed on the spot.

SLA sources said this morning that they had acted on information that the LTTE would be passing that way at around the same time of day.

But Wijayakumar's familiy said that the army was in a position to see clearly in the broad daylight that he was an unarmed civilian.

"The army could have halted him and even arrested him; but there was absolutely no need or provocation for them to have lobbed a grenade and opened fire to kill him on the spot" said one of Wijayakumar's family members who came to identify the body at the Valaichenai hospital last evening.