Top civil servant shot dead in Lanka's East

Colombo, July 16 (UNI) A top civil servant was shot dead by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels in the eastern port city of Trincomalee this evening.

According to police sources, unknown gunmen shot dead Harath Abeyweera, the Chief District Secretary of the Eastern province, in the heart of Trincomalee town and escaped before police and security force personnel rushed to the scene.

The killing came hours after the government announced that it was organising a national event on Thursday to pay tribute to the gallant achievement of the military in flushing out the rebels from their former strongholds in the east after more than a decade.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ''unequivocally condemned'' the killing and blamed the Tigers of carrying out the killing.

''This is yet another act of savagery by the LTTE in its campaign of terror to achieve its goal of a separate state, allegedly for the liberation of the Tamil people who are themselves severely oppressed by its violence and terror,'' the President said in a statement tonight.

''This assassination further strengthens our resolve not to give in to the forces of terror, but to proceed with our task of restoring freedom and democracy to the East, and to all of Sri Lanka,'' the statement said.

The incident occurred as the government planned to seek foreign aid to implement an ambitious rapid development programme to rebuild the war-ravaged former rebel strongholds in the East, police here added.

There was no immediate response from the LTTE in this regard.

UNI