'Acid attack' on Tamil journalist

A Tamil journalist has been attacked with acid in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, a media rights group has said.

KP Mohan was attacked as he left hospital where he was undergoing treatment after an assault by soldiers in June, the Free Media Movement said.

Sri Lankan authorities are investigating the attack in June.

Media activists say that fighting between the army and the Tamil Tigers has made the country one of the world's most dangerous places for journalists.

Acid was thrown at Mr Mohan, defence reporter for Tamil daily newspaper Thinakkural, as he was leaving hospital where he had been treated for an elbow wound, the Free Media Movement said.

They said his condition was not known to be critical, but that the attack "will make all journalists think twice before any critical reporting."

Fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels has intensified in recent months in the north and east of the island after the breakdown of a 2002 ceasefire.

More than 60,000 people have died since the rebels began fighting for an independent homeland in the 1970s.