Former village guard fatally shot in Sri Lanka 's volatile east
Unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle fatally shot a former village guard on Tuesday as he waited for a bus with his wife and child in Sri Lanka's volatile east, the military said. Nalaka Sampath Kumara, 23, was at a bus stop with his family when the gunmen opened fire in Welikanda village, 215 kilometers (135 miles) northeast of the capital, Colombo, said military spokesman Brig. Daya Ratnayake.
The attackers sped away on the motorcycle, Ratnayake said. He said Kumara was rushed to a hospital and later died from six bullet wounds to the chest. Kumara's wife and child were not hurt, Ratnayake said.Violence has surged in eastern Sri Lanka since a faction of the Tamil Tiger rebels broke away from the main group more than a year ago. Clashes have since killed scores of people, including security personnel and rebels from both factions.
The mainstream rebels accuse the army of supporting the breakaway faction, a charge the military denies. Ratnayake said it was not immediately known if the latest attack was linked to the growing factional fighting. Police were investigating, he said.
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