EIGHT CIVILIANS WERE KILLED AND EIGHTEEN OTHER CIVILIANS INJURED BY LTTE MORTAR FIRE FROM THOPPIGALA

By Walter Jayawardhana

In an obvious attempt to create panic and confusion and make civilian run leaving their settlements Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) targeted two villages in the Eastern Province and killed eight people including two young children and injuring 18 other civilians the Sri Lanka Army sources said.

The civilians were killed in Morakottanchena and Karadiyanaru villages during the night of of March 29 by mortar fire allegedly originating from the LTTE positions in Thoppigala area.

"They have fired at two villages. Only in the morning we have entered the area and we found eight people killed, including a 1-1/2-year-old and 7-year-old, both of them girls," said military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe.

After the Tamil Tigers were evicted from about 230 square mile area in recent months some of them have regrouped in the jungle strip of Thoppigala East of the Batticaloa town and creating the mayhem , Samarasinghe said.

In retaliation the Sri Lanka security forces have surrounded the Thoppigala area to choke the Tamil Tigers of supplies and preventing them from leaving or entering the area.

The mortar fire that started about 7.30 p.m. on March 29 also hit Sittandi and Sandiliveli villages. The villagers told the army that they were just getting ready to sleep after supper when mortar shells started hitting their houses.

The Sri lanka Army said they have already informed about the attack on the civilians by the LTTE to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission.

The Sri Lanka Army sources said closeby army detachments have transported 18 civilians who were injured by the alleged mortar fire by the LTTE.

Among the injured were three little children including an infant of 18 months . All are undergoing treatment at the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital.

Earlier the alleged LTTE mortar fire was directed to Padawiya and Ethavetunu Wewa villages.