Two dead in Sri Lanka jail clash

By Frances Harrison
BBC correspondent in Colombo

Two prisoners have been shot dead and a third injured in a jail in eastern Sri Lanka apparently in a clash between two rival factions of the Tamil Tiger rebels.

The rebels say Sri Lanka may be slipping back to war

A top commander split from the Tigers in March.

Now the rebels accuse the army of backing the breakaway leader in a proxy war against them.

Violence has escalated in the past week with a suicide bombing in Colombo and several shootings in the east.

The two men were shot dead inside the jail by another inmate, who officials say is a former Tamil Tiger rebel convicted of robbery.

The killer is said to be on the roof of the prison in Batticaloa with a pistol and cyanide.

A 19-year-old man was admitted to hospital with gunshot injuries in his hand.

One of the dead is a man who gave interviews recently from jail, acting as a spokesman for the breakaway rebel leader, Colonel Karuna.

Attacks

Violence has escalated sharply in the last week in Sri Lanka and the rebels have repeatedly expressed concern that the country is slipping back to war.

It looks as if the Tigers are now killing anyone associated with the rebel defector.

Last week a suicide bomber was sent to target a government minister close to Colonel Karuna.

And then the Tigers announced they had executed two of his men.

A Buddhist temple that had sheltered men suspected to be loyal to Colonel Karuna was attacked, killing one monk.

And on Monday one person was shot dead in a clash between the two factions.

The Tigers complain the government is backing a low-level proxy war against them in the east. Now it looks as if they have decided to fight back in the same manner.

The worry is this will put the ceasefire agreement under unbearable strain.