Sri Lankan university shut down

A student was allegedly held at a checkpoint

The authorities in northern Sri Lanka have told more than 4,000 students at Jaffna University to stay at home until further notice in a bid to end protests against the security forces.

Students say they are no longer allowed on the campus and they have been told to vacate their hostels.

They say security has been tightened, with police and military posted in the side streets around the university.

The unusual step of closing the university follows what is nearly a week-long boycott of classes by students protesting against the arrest of one of their leaders.

The Sri Lankan military say they arrested the student at a roadblock in the company of a rebel infiltrator who escaped, leaving behind a weapon.

'Beaten'

According to the military, the 21-year-old science student subsequently gave them information which led to the recovery of ammunition, a pistol and some detonator cord from a house in Jaffna.

But the university students allege their colleague was beaten by the security forces to obtain a false confession to say he had links with the rebels.

They say a team that visited the arrested student reported that he had injuries all over his face and body.

But the vice-chancellor of the university, who was part of the same team, has denied the allegations of mistreatment.

The arrested student was the former secretary of the Jaffna University Students Union, a body which has been at the forefront of recent protests against the security forces and the government.

The students say the military had previously threatened their colleague because of his involvement in union politics.

For its part, the military believes the university has been infiltrated by rebel supporters who are bent on causing trouble.

It is not clear if the closure of the campus will curb the unrest.

University students are now threatening to close down Jaffna's schools and government offices in protest

Elsewhere in the north and east, Tamil university students have observed strikes in support of their colleagues in Jaffna.