Goni Billa identifies 'informants':
LTTE massacres over 100 Muslims
in Mutur
by Ranga Jayasuriya
The LTTE massacred over hundred civilians who were fleeing fighting
in Mutur, according to reports reaching to Colombo from Pachchanoor,
South of Mutur.
These reports said over 100 bodies of civilians laid scattered in
Pachchanoor, where the LTTE installed a road block until Friday night.
A military official quoting an eye witness told the Sunday Observer,
that the LTTE had arrested fleeing Muslims at Pachchanoor and taken them
before a hooded man(Goni Billa).
The hooded man was tasked to ascertain if these civilians were
connected to the security forces.
Those civilians identified by the hooded man were then taken away
with their hands tied. According to the eye witness reports, civilians
had protested against such arrests and some had managed to escape.
At that juncture, the young LTTE cadres manning the check point fired
at them indiscriminately, killing 17 civilians on the spot, eye witness
reports said.
There were 48 civilians arrested by the Tigers at the time
disturbance took place. Their fate is not known.
The website of the National Security Ministry reported that LTTE had
killed over 100 Muslims, including women and children, after accusing
them of conniving with the security forces.
Meanwhile, according to another eye witness, who spoke to our photo
journalist who visited Mutur yesterday, the LTTE had arrested at least
sixty Muslim civilians on Friday. Twelve of them were shot dead
instantly. The fate of the remaining detainees were not known.
According to Military sources, most civilians who have been arrested
by the LTTE had been supplying fish and other food commodities to the
local security forces detachments.
"Ninety Nine per cent of the civilian population in Mutur is cordial
with the security forces," claimed a military official.
National Security spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella described
the massacre as manifesting the sheer brutality of LTTE terrorism.
SLMM spokesman Robert Nilsson told the truce monitors were informed
of the massacre and attempts to visit the scene proved futile as the
area had been heavily mined. |