The Sri Lankan military has arrested at least one Tamil youth, after conducting search raids in Valvettithurai on Thursday.
The youth, identified as 28-year-old Padmanabhan Sindhuraj, was at home when the military raided the property, allegedly searching for his brother.
It is reported they were searching for the Tamil man in connection with a clash between local Tamils and soldiers in Nagarkovil last week.
Sindhuraj has since been detained by Point Pedro Police.
The arrests of Tamils began after earlier this month, as the local community celebrated Thai Pongal, an argument broke out in Vadamarachchi East after a soldier reportedly attempted to stop a Tamil man on a motorcycle. The incident began to escalate, with relatives of the local man gathering around to support him, when a reported physical clash broke out between the soldiers and local Tamils.
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