Jaffna Tamil newspaper office attacked, one killed

Colombo, May 2 (UNI) A group of unidentified gunmen today attacked a Tamil language newspaper office, Uthayan, in the heart of the Northern Jaffna town, killing at least one employer and wounding three more in the restive Northern peninsula, sources said. ''The gunmen had forcibly entered the office searching for some senior reporters. Since they were not there they opened fire before they escaped. One employer was killed and three more were injured in the shooting,'' a journalist with Uthayan said over the phone.

The incident took place at a time when World Press Freedom Day was being celebrated in Colombo on a grand scale in association with UNESCO.

The incident took place barely an hour after the various media organisations in the country, such as Free Media Movement, Sri Lanka's Working Journalist Association, Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum and the Tamil Media Alliance, held a ''candle vigil'' rally opposite Colombo Fort Railway Station to remember the number of journalists killed in Sri Lanka and worldwide.

One soldier was shot dead by the suspected LTTE gunmen in the Vavuniya town today, military spokesman Brig Prasad Samarasinghe said.

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