A sword attack in Jaffna has left two people hospitalised with serious injuries.
An unknown group of persons reportedly broke into a house close to Neerveli junction around 8pm last Wednesday (30th September), attacking a 30-year-old man, P. Siva, and his 50-year-old mother Renuka, who tried to save him. The assault was carried out using swords, rods and sharp weapons.
The mother and son were admitted to Jaffna Teaching Hospital with serious injuries stated Kopay police adding that the mob consisted of 6 individuals who arrived with motorbikes.
Sri Lankan police are reportedly looking further into the incident and have suggested that the incident may be linked to gang activity in the peninsula. Recent years have seen a rise in gang-related activity, with groups such as the ‘Aava gang’ linked to Sri Lankan military intelligence.
In December 2019, a Sri Lankan brigadier who had been previously removed from a posting due to links with military-backed gangs causing unrest in Jaffna, has been appointed the head of State Intelligence Service (SIS) by Sri Lanka’s new president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Brigadier Suresh Salley was Sri Lanka’s former Director of Military Intelligence (DMI) when a wave of unrest swept through the Jaffna peninsula in 2016, which authorities blamed on the ‘Aava gang’. Sri Lankan police had also shot dead two Tamil teenagers.