Colombo, July 06: Sri Lankan police today stepped up security for Scandinavian truce monitors after residents took the body of a slain rebel to their office.
Armed police were deployed outside the office of the
Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in the eastern town of
Batticaloa after relatives yesterday staged a peaceful protest
by placing the coffin of Vairamuththu Mehanathan at the
entrance to the building.
Mehanathan was gunned down by suspected Tiger rebels
in Batticaloa on Friday.
Both the government and rival Tamil groups have
lodged protests with the SLMM over a spate of killings blamed
on the Tamil Tigers in violation of a ceasefire that has been
in place since February last year.
More than 35 rivals of the Tamil Tigers, military and
police personnel involved with intelligence gathering have
been killed since the ceasefire and all the slayings have
been blamed on the rebels.
Bureau Report
