Two soldiers arrested for Jaffna rape

The army in Sri Lanka says two soldiers have been detained in connection with the rape of a Tamil woman in the northern Jaffna peninsula at the weekend.

It said they had been handed over to police for further questioning.

The victim, aged 42, was attacked on Saturday by men in camouflage uniform, who also beat up her elderly mother when she tried to intervene.

The army initially blamed the assault on rebel guerrillas, but has now retracted that allegation.

The attack came a day after shops, offices and schools were closed in most Tamil areas of Sri Lanka in protest at the rape of another Tamil woman, stopped at a checkpoint in the capital, Colombo.

Two policemen were arrested in connection with that assault.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service