Refugees injured after clash with military in northern Sri Lanka

Sep 27, 2009, 10:48 GMT

Colombo - Three Tamils were injured Sunday following a clash between war-displaced refugees and Sri Lankan government troops in the country's north, according to a military spokesman.

The three Tamil refugees, among thousands displaced in fighting between Tamil rebels and government forces earlier this year, were shot by army personnel during the fighting. There were differing accounts of how the fighting began.

According to the military spokesman, refugees threw a hand grenade and stones at troops guarding a refugee camp in Cheddikluam, Vavuniya, 240 kilometres north of the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo Saturday night.

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said that the situation was brought under control after reinforcements arrived.

But a Tamil politician based in the area claimed that troops had opened fire upon a group of refugees who had gone out of the camp to look for firewood to cook their meals because, they say, the government has stopped giving them cooked food.

Tamil National Alliance Member of Parliament Shivashakthi Anandan said troops had opened fire upon the group as they tried to creep through the fence surrounding the camp.

Some 240,000 displaced persons are being held at welfare centres in the north of Sri Lanka until they are allowed to return to their homes.

UN agencies and opposition political parties in Sri Lanka have called upon the government to release the displaced persons and allow them to resettle in their homes in the country's north. But the government claims that work to remove landmines is not yet completed.

Refugees have also been calling for their early resettlement as monsoon rains are expected next month, which could make the temporary camps uninhabitable.

The military crushed the rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam after killing their leadership on May 18, ending a 26-year-old conflict.