Resort raid: Sri Lanka hunts for Army deserters

TANGALLA (Sri Lanka), DEC. 29 Sri Lankan police were today searching for two army deserters suspected of leading a gang of gunmen who raided a beach resort, killed its German co-owner and raped a woman tourist.

``There are six teams of detachments deployed to apprehend the suspects. The prime suspects are two army deserters,'' the Superintendent of Police, Mr. Sunil Perera, told Reuters at the scene of the crime. But no arrests had been made so far, he said.

Witnesses said eight masked men armed with military- issue T-56 assault rifles and smaller weapons, raided the resort near Tangalla, 150 km southeast of Colombo, late on Wednesday.

Police identified the murdered German man as Uli Hautt, 37, co- owner of the resort and was staying there with his wife, Cornelia Pohlenz.

The two were among 22 foreigners at the resort on Wednesday. The gunmen held nearly a dozen German tourists captive for several hours during the raid. The tourists declined to speak to journalists today. All of them, including the 19-year-old Sri Lankan-born German woman who was raped, have been moved to a resort in Dickwella, 20 km closer to Colombo, and are being assisted by the German Embassy.

No previous violence had been reported by the management of the Darwin holiday resort, nestled well off the beaten track in a picturesque, unspoilt setting. Despite initial suspicion that the motive for the raid was robbery, police said a land dispute may have been behind the attack.

Police said the area has a high rate of violent crime, which was partly because of large numbers of army deserters who have fled there from an upsurge of fighting with ethnic Tamil rebels in the country's north and east.

- Reuters

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Section  : International
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