SUSPECTED TAMIL TIGERS ATTACK A CIVILIAN BUS KILLING FOUR AND INJURING 31 PASSENGERS INCLUDING CHILDREN

By Walter Jayawardhana

At least four civilians were killed when suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) blew off a bus close to the town of Vavuniya in Sri Lanka’s troubled Northern Province.

The Ministry of Defense sources said the the bomb ripped through the civilian bus also injuring 31 other passengers which occurred at 11. 45 p.m.

On April 23 at a place called Cheddikulama on the Mannar -Medawachchiya main road.
The wayside claymore mine which ripped through the civilian bus was exploded by the suspected terrorists on the A-14 road close to Manik Farm junction , Cheddikulama police said.

The Cheddikulama police said the injured civilians were rushed to Cheddikulama General Hospital for treatment. The hospital sources said three children and eight women were among the injured .
The Ministry of Defense blamed the attack on the civilians on the LTTE. The defense ministry said the terrorist group have been engaged in civilian bus attacks starting from the Kebithigollewa bus attack that killed 65 passengers.

The alleged attack on the bus came amidst reports that the government was preparing to attack the LTTE strongholds in the Wanni area.

The rebel LTTE have been evacuated from all areas in the island except from two and a half districts of the country. Their power remains in Kilinochchi and Mulativu districts in the Northern Province and the Thoppigala jungles in the Eastern province.

Earlier on Monday the government cancelled a trip by Norway’s amabassador to Kilinochchi to mediate citing security reasons.