(AFP)--Six people were killed in two incidents of apparently gang-related violence in Sri Lanka Friday, police said, despite a tough crackdown ordered last week.
Five were found burned to death in a van on a remote stretch of road outside Colombo, their bodies too charred to be easily identified. "This looks like some kind of revenge attack," a senior police official told AFP.
"An investigation is under way to identify the victims. We suspect this has something to do with gang rivalry." In a separate incident, gunmen burst into a home in the island's south and opened fire, killing a woman and wounding her husband, police said.
No arrests have yet been made over the deaths, which come days after President Maithripala Sirisena drafted in the military to help tackle a surge in gang-related shootings.
Security forces have been asked to conduct joint operations with the police to dismantle crime networks responsible for drug smuggling and extortion rackets. Police have also re-introduced road blocks, a common sight during the decades-long Tamil separatist war that ended in May 2009.
The funeral of arguably the Queen of the Sinhala cinema Malini Fonseka, will be held with state honours on Monday, May 26, 2025, at the Independence Square.
First Bishop of the Batticaloa Diocese, Retired Bishop Joseph Ponnaiya, passed away today at the age of 74, following a brief illness.
The NPP government has been at the wheel for almost 6 months now. The time to keep looking at the rear view mirror and living in the past is about over.
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