At least three people, including an eight-year-old child, were wounded when soldiers opened fire at a group of internally displaced people who tried to escape from the Menik Farm at Chettikulam last night, military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said.
He said the soldiers were forced to open fire when the IDPs pelted stones. He also claimed that one of them tried to lob a grenade. The wounded were admitted to hospital.
However, TNA parliamentarian Shivashakthi Anandan claimed that the IDPs were moving from one zone to another to collect firewood as they had to cook their own meals after the authorities stopped supplying cooked meals.
Earlier this week IDPs in Vavuniya protested after soldiers assaulted a youth who sneaked out of the camp. |
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