Prez visits Jaffna over murder

Colombo, May 26: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena flew to the island’s former warzone of Jaffna on Tuesday to defuse rising tensions over the gangrape and murder of a teenager, a spokesman said.

Mr Sirisena met relatives of the 17- year- old school girl killed in the minority Tamil stronghold in the island’s north two weeks ago, an incident that sparked clashes between residents and the police, who were accused of failing to act swiftly. “The President invited the mother and brother of the victim to lunch with him and promised speedy legal action against the perpetrators,” Mr Sirisena’s spokesman Dharmasri Bandara said. The visit came as the police obtained a new court order banning protests for two more weeks.