Gunmen have shot dead a political activist in eastern Sri Lanka in a second murder believed to be related to next months elections, police said Tuesday.
The attackers gunned down Ponniah Yogendran, 28, from the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) in the district of Batticaloa on Monday night, police said.
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rnThe EPDP said the slaying was the work of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which is also suspected in Mondays slaying of an ethnic Tamil candidate, the first to be killed in the run-up to the polls.rn
rn"Yogendran had been under severe threat from the LTTE," the EPDP said in a statement. "Therefore, there cannot be any doubt that the killers were members of the LTTE.
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rnThe statement came as the United States condemned the killing of Tamil candidate Sinnathamby Sunderapillai and warned Tamil Tiger rebels they were behaving like a terror group.rn
rnNo one has claimed responsibility for either shooting.rn
rn(Source: AFP)