Sri Lanka Legislator Gunned Down At Christmas Mass
Peter Apps
Reuters AlertNet
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Batticaloa (Sri Lanka):
Blood, abandoned shoes and service papers lie beneath the tinsel in a cathedral in Sri Lanka's east, where many fear the murder of a pro-rebel politician during midnight mass could be another step on the road back to war.
Joseph Pararajasingam, MP for the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) - political proxies of the island's Tamil Tiger rebels - had just received communion when an unidentified gunman slipped through hundreds of worshippers to shoot him dead and wound eight others, including children, early on Christmas Day.
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See Also:
Joseph Pararajasingham MP shot dead in Batticaloa church
Tigers condemn the killing of Pararajasingham
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"Immediately, there was panic," Batticaloa cathedral priest Father Ignace Joseph told Reuters, standing on the steps of the altar by the MP's blood."Some people were running, some threw themselves to the floor. The service stopped..."
That attack sent diplomats rushing to the northern de facto rebel capital Kilinochchi to push for crunch peace talks.Sporadic attacks continued in the north and east on Sunday.
Four soldiers were injured in grenade attacks by suspected Tigers in the Jaffna peninsula and a policeman was shot and injured in the eastern port of Trincomalee.
Two civilians were shot dead in separate attacks along the east coast overnight.
Dec 25, 2005
Peter AppsReuters AlertNet
_____________
Batticaloa (Sri Lanka):
Blood, abandoned shoes and service papers lie beneath the tinsel in a cathedral in Sri Lanka's east, where many fear the murder of a pro-rebel politician during midnight mass could be another step on the road back to war.
Joseph Pararajasingam, MP for the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) - political proxies of the island's Tamil Tiger rebels - had just received communion when an unidentified gunman slipped through hundreds of worshippers to shoot him dead and wound eight others, including children, early on Christmas Day.
_______________________
See Also:
Joseph Pararajasingham MP shot dead in Batticaloa church
Tigers condemn the killing of Pararajasingham
_______________________
"Immediately, there was panic," Batticaloa cathedral priest Father Ignace Joseph told Reuters, standing on the steps of the altar by the MP's blood."Some people were running, some threw themselves to the floor. The service stopped..."
That attack sent diplomats rushing to the northern de facto rebel capital Kilinochchi to push for crunch peace talks.Sporadic attacks continued in the north and east on Sunday.
Four soldiers were injured in grenade attacks by suspected Tigers in the Jaffna peninsula and a policeman was shot and injured in the eastern port of Trincomalee.
Two civilians were shot dead in separate attacks along the east coast overnight.
Dec 25, 2005
