03-31-2004, 11:43 PM
Tamils flee east Sri Lanka
From correspondents in Chenkaladi
April 01, 2004
TAMIL residents began fleeing this eastern Sri Lankan town overnight as hundreds of troops poured in amid arson attacks and fears of a factional war between Tamil Tiger rebels, residents and police said.
A shop owned by an ethnic Tamil from the north of the island was torched overnight following the killing of local politician Rajan Sathyamoorthy on Tuesday, allegedly by Tamil rebels from the north, police said.
"Several shops have been torched here," a local police official said. "Tamils who trace their origins to the island's north have begun fleeing after Mr Sathyamoorthy was killed."
Hundreds of troops poured into the region in a show of force to discourage fighting between the rival rebel factions, officials in the capital said.
Most of the shops in Batticaloa town, just 10kms south, were closed as people feared an eruption of fighting, residents said.
"Our whole community is living in fear," said retired banker from Jaffna, S. Sabanathan, adding his friends had witnessed shops being shut by force and the keys taken away by rebels.
"My family is living in fear. We do not know what will happen (from one moment to the next)."
Leaflets distributed among residents had warned Jaffna Tamils, or those from the northern region of the island, to leave the district of Batticaloa within 24 hours.
The victim of Tuesday's shooting, Sathyamoorthy, a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) election candidate, had been a supporter of breakaway Tamil Tiger leader V. Muralitharan, better known as Karuna, who holds sway in this eastern area. Karuna broke away from the group's main northern leadership earlier this month.
The rebels have vowed they will not resort to bloodshed to sort out their unprecedented split, but police said the first shots had already been fired with Tuesday's slaying and the subsequent arson attacks.
The defence ministry said another shop owned by a Jaffna had been torched Tuesday after the renegade rebels ordered Jaffna Tamils to quit this region within 24 hours.
A spokesman for the renegade commander, V. Muralitharan, denied they were responsible for the forced eviction.
More than 1000 Sri Lankan soldiers patrolled the city in trucks and on motorbikes and policemen checked vehicles entering the tense town.
Thanx: The Australian
From correspondents in Chenkaladi
April 01, 2004
TAMIL residents began fleeing this eastern Sri Lankan town overnight as hundreds of troops poured in amid arson attacks and fears of a factional war between Tamil Tiger rebels, residents and police said.
A shop owned by an ethnic Tamil from the north of the island was torched overnight following the killing of local politician Rajan Sathyamoorthy on Tuesday, allegedly by Tamil rebels from the north, police said.
"Several shops have been torched here," a local police official said. "Tamils who trace their origins to the island's north have begun fleeing after Mr Sathyamoorthy was killed."
Hundreds of troops poured into the region in a show of force to discourage fighting between the rival rebel factions, officials in the capital said.
Most of the shops in Batticaloa town, just 10kms south, were closed as people feared an eruption of fighting, residents said.
"Our whole community is living in fear," said retired banker from Jaffna, S. Sabanathan, adding his friends had witnessed shops being shut by force and the keys taken away by rebels.
"My family is living in fear. We do not know what will happen (from one moment to the next)."
Leaflets distributed among residents had warned Jaffna Tamils, or those from the northern region of the island, to leave the district of Batticaloa within 24 hours.
The victim of Tuesday's shooting, Sathyamoorthy, a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) election candidate, had been a supporter of breakaway Tamil Tiger leader V. Muralitharan, better known as Karuna, who holds sway in this eastern area. Karuna broke away from the group's main northern leadership earlier this month.
The rebels have vowed they will not resort to bloodshed to sort out their unprecedented split, but police said the first shots had already been fired with Tuesday's slaying and the subsequent arson attacks.
The defence ministry said another shop owned by a Jaffna had been torched Tuesday after the renegade rebels ordered Jaffna Tamils to quit this region within 24 hours.
A spokesman for the renegade commander, V. Muralitharan, denied they were responsible for the forced eviction.
More than 1000 Sri Lankan soldiers patrolled the city in trucks and on motorbikes and policemen checked vehicles entering the tense town.
Thanx: The Australian
<span style='font-size:20pt;line-height:100%'>Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.</span>