“Atrocities and harassment being committed by LTTE in their areas by way of murder of Muslim civilians, frequent abduction of Muslim civilians, LTTE extortions and ransom, etc in the recent past caused them to stage Friday’s protest attended by several thousands of Muslims in the area,” the army said.

Tension and public anger came to a climax on Thursday after LTTE gunmen claimed the life of a Muslim three-wheeler driver on while he was on his way to Kirimichchi area along with three other Muslim passengers. The bullet-riddled body of the three-wheeler driver was subsequently recovered by Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission officials who visited the area along with the Valachchenai Police on Wednesday morning. Earlier, LTTE gunmen shot and killed four Muslim civilians in Kolakanawadiya village along with one Sinhalese and one Tamil.

All shops, boutiques and state institutions remained however closed yesterday also as a token of protest to the recent LTTE killings.

“Friday’s protest, began at about 7.00 a.m. with about eight hundred protesters in the heart of Oddamavadi town, swelled into a huge crowd of about five thousand as time went on, crippling normalcy in the area and bringing the whole area to a complete standstill. Schools and transport were also not in function. Peaceful protesters, shouting anti-LTTE slogans and carrying anti-LTTE placards were in the town. Security arrangements were strengthened in affected areas by the Police in cooperation with troops to maintain law and order,” the Army added. Published: Fri Mar 11 12:38:11 EST 2005