The Sirimapuram colony, near Mathurankuli in Puttalam District, was attacked by a gang on 18 November. Four shops and 17 houses were damaged. The attackers robbed jewellery and burned some houses.
Muslim refugees from Jaffna and Mannar live in Sirimapuram. Some of them were injured in the attack. The women in the settlement took refuge in the local mosque. The villagers say that security forces visited the settlement only a few minutes before the attack, which came during curfew hours. Two days later, masked men singled out Muslims in a bus at Arachchikaddu in Puttalam and attacked them. Four Muslims were admitted to hospital.
The police arrested three security force personnel in early November, after a jewellery shop in Puttalam town was robbed. Police say the robbery had been directed by an Airforce officer and arms from the force’s armoury had been used.
Allegations have been made that Muslim fishermen were attacked by the security forces accompanied by a gang on 9 November at sea off Trincomalee District. Some of the fishermen were taken into custody. Trincomalee MP KM Thowfeek says that the attack had been planned by the Trincomalee police and called for immediate investigation.
In Vavuniya District, the house of local NGO consortium President Sathasivam Kulathevarajah was attacked by a 15-member gang on 30 November. Mr Kulathevarajah managed to hide and escape, but his assistant Kalimuthu Subramaniam was injured. The gang damaged the house and household goods. The police arrested three people.