| Submit your comments on this article | |
| India-Pakistan | |
| Tamil leader assassinated in northern Sri Lanka | |
| 2003-06-14 | |
| And more on the sunken sea tiggers... A top Tamil politician was assassinated by an unidentified gunman in Sri Lanka's northern town of Jaffna. The leader of the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front — Varatharajah Wing (EPRLF), Subathran, 44, was killed at his office in Jaffna. The party is bitterly opposed to the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which entered into a truce with the government in February last year. Despite the ceasefire, the Tigers have been accused of killing more than 30 rival Tamils and military informants. Subathran is the most senior politician to have been killed during the truce. His murder came as a Tamil Tiger merchant ship blew up and sank with its crew aboard as the navy fired warning shots to halt the vessel, defence officials said. The vessel belonging to LTTE was being towed by a smaller boat when the navy confronted them, defence secretary Austin Fernando said. He said the navy had told him that the smaller craft had taken off leaving the ship behind in high seas. The crew of the ship had blasted the vessel before the navy could board it, Fernando said.
| |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |