Row erupts over Sri Lanka rape

Protests against the alleged increase in rapes were held

The Sri Lankan army and Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka have blamed each other for the gang-rape of a Tamil woman in the northern Jaffna peninsula on Saturday night.

The army had nothing to do with this. There are Tiger infiltrators in the area and we have no doubt they were responsible

Brigadier Sanath Karunaratne

Army officials say two men in camouflage uniform assaulted the 42-year-old woman and also beat up her elderly mother who is partially deaf and dumb.

Some reports from Jaffna say four men were involved.

The incident occurred just hours after a strike throughout the north and east to protest against the alleged increase in rape of Tamil women by the security forces.

Army denial

The victim, a resident of the peninsula's Meesalai area, was raped by "armed men in military fatigues", police said.

A military spokesman, Brigadier Sanath Karunaratne, blamed the attack on the Tamil Tigers, who have spent 18 years fighting the government over their demands for a separate state.

"The army had nothing to do with this. There are Tiger infiltrators in the area and we have no doubt they were responsible," said Brigadier Karunaratne.

But a pro-rebel website quoted neighbours of the woman as saying the rape had been carried out by a group of army soldiers.

Both sides have repeatedly accused the other of atrocities during the course of the conflict.

Stigma

A Tamil woman, who was allegedly raped at a checkpoint in the capital Colombo last month, appeared in court on Monday and identified a policeman as one of her assailants.

In March, several sailors were accused of raping two Tamil detainees in the north-western town of Mannar. No charges have yet been laid.

There are no accurate estimates of how many women have alleged rape against the security forces during the civil war.

The BBC correspondent in Colombo says this is partly because the social stigma surrounding rape is still so strong that many victims face rejection by their families.