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Tit-for-tat
mystery attacks, killings get more daring in the east At least ten people have died in tit-for-tat killings allegedly between the LTTE and the Karuna faction. With Police and security forces making little headway in tracking down those responsible for these killings, the assailants appear to be becoming more daring. And amidst this escalating situation, pressure was put on the government by the JVP to act to stop these killings. The JVP's parliamentary group leader Wimal Weerawansa making a statement in Parliament on Thursday said, that the President as the Commander-in-chief responsible for national security and security officials needed to immediately take serious note of the situation and act to bring things under control. He also condemned the LTTE for killing unarmed civilians and said silence in the face of these attacks would only make the situation worse. But it was not only the LTTE that was carrying out the attacks but also other factions operating in the east. Military spokesman Brigadier Daya Ratnayaka told The Sunday Times he believed that the LTTE Wanni group was losing ground to the Karuna faction in Batticaloa and were trying to gain the upper hand by eliminating whoever stood in their way. "We are closely monitoring the situation and security has been strengthened. Since both factions have the knack of resorting to this kind of killings and getting away with it, it is not possible to control the situation 100 per cent," he said. On March 5, three gunmen stormed the village of Kolakanawadiya in the Batticaloa-Polonnaruwa main road and killed six civilians, the worst single attack on civilians since the signing of the ceasefire agreement in February 2002. Among those killed were four Muslims a Sinhalese and a Tamil. Even though the finger was pointed at the Wanni LTTE faction, a senior LTTE member accused the Karuna faction. He said the victims had been threatened by members of the Karuna faction from time to time who had extorted money from them. The Tamil victim has been identified as Arjun Selvarajah, a former PLOTE cadre who reportedly had close links with the LTTE. The LTTE claims that these men were killed, because the Karuna faction believed they were LTTE informants. On Sunday night, para military member S.Pathmanathan was forcibly taken out of his home in Ariyampathy in Batticaloa allegedly by members of the LTTE pistol gang and shot dead. A few months earlier, Mr.Pathmanathan had escaped an assassination attempt. On Monday night, in Eravur, a Razeek group member - a para-military outfit- was shot dead in Thalavail. He was identified as Velaithan Ilankeswaran. The following day, a former PLOTE cadre Alakaiah Kirubeswaran who is said to be an army informant who was waiting to board a Colombo bound bus in front of the police station was shot dead allegedly by members of the LTTE pistol gang. Within hours of his killing, the Police managed to apprehend a man who allegedly tipped off the LTTE of his presence in Batticaloa town. Later in the day, the Police masked the man and took him around town and tried to get him to identify the people who were behind the attack and this caused much panic in the area. This incident was similar to what transpired soon after the departure of Indian troops from the area in 1990 when many masked men were used to identity suspects, civilians in the area said. On March 9, a trishaw driver Abdul Raheem Hameed was on a hire from Oddamawadi when he was abducted in Kadjuwatte and his body recovered the next day. As a result, activities in the Oddamawadi -Valachcheni area came to a standstill, after civilians observed a hartal. On Thursday night, a liquor shop owner identified as Christy was shot and wounded when he was returning home from his shop in Udukudiirippu. He has been identified as a close associate of Karuna. On Friday afternoon, a PLOTE office in Batticlaoa town came under grenade attack and three senior cadres and one of their sons were injured. Four Wanni faction LTTE cadres were killed on Friday in the Mankerni area in Vakari, military spokesman Brigadier Daya Ratnayake said. |
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