Police imposed a curfew on a predominantly Muslim town in eastern Sri Lanka on Thursday after five people died in retaliatory killings. Police spokesman N.K. Ilangakoon said the violence started when two men from a pro-government ethnic Tamil militia were shot to death in eastern Kattankudy town. Later, men believed to be from the militia stormed the town and killed two Muslims and wounded four others, Ilangakoon said. Police declared a curfew to prevent more violence, he said. However, Dr. K. Murugananthan of the government hospital in nearby Batticaloa town said there were five bodies _ three of them Muslims _ in the morgue. The militia, the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal, is a breakaway faction of the Tamil Tiger rebels who have been fighting since 1983 for an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's ethnic minority Tamils. After breaking away from the mainstream rebels in 2004, the TMVP has helped government forces drive the guerrillas from Sri Lanka's east. It contested elections this month in Eastern Province and won seats on the governing assembly.
