Jaffna: 67 shot , 29 abducted, 68 missing

Jaffna 3 month tally: 67 shot dead, 29 abducted, 68 missing

Sixty-seven persons were killed and twenty-nine abducted by unidentified armed men while sixty-eight had been reported missing in Jaffna peninsula during the period from January to March 2007, according to a report by Human Rights Organisations in Jaffna. Though complaints had been made about these human rights violations to the law enforcing authorities in the peninsula, no one had been arrested by the authorities in connection any of the the complaints, legal sources in Jaffna said.

The killings and abductions were carried out during curfew hours in the nights as well as in broad day light by unidentified armed men in white van, gunmen in military uniforms and men on motor cycles.

The following particulars are found in the report compiled by the Human Rights Organisations in Jaffna peninsula:

Unidentified armed men killed 20 persons in January, 8 in February and 39 in March, making a total of 67.

Unknown gunmen in white vans, Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and SLA-backed paramilitaries abducted 10 civilians in January and 19 in March, altogether 29.

A total of 68 civilians, 20 in January, 31 in February and 17 in March, have been reported missing. These persons went missing after leaving their homes on personal errands or business related travel inside the peninsula.

Meanwhile, more than 18 persons have sought safety through Human Rights Commission (HRC), Jaffna office, complaining that they feared being killed by the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and the paramilitary personnel operating with them in Jaffna peninsula, the sources added.

Two bodies of persons shot and killed during the period from January to March remain unidentified in the Jaffna Teaching hospital mortuary.

This report, which does not include any statistics from Sri Lanka Armed Forces, was compiled from data registered with HRC and the media in the peninsula, legal sources in Jaffna said.

ENDS

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