Gunshots were fired in Jaffna this week as Sri Lankan police reportedly gave chase to a gang of unknown persons armed with machetes, amidst ongoing crime in the highly militarised peninsula.
Dramatic footage has emerged showing the moment that at least two masked figures wielding large machetes appeared at a storefront in Tellippalai.
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The individuals then got into a white van, which was chased down by Sri Lankan police who opened fire.
Bullets reportedly hit a shopfront on the roadside, whilst all the white van with the masked men reportedly escaped.
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In the aftermath, a heavy Sri Lankan army presence was reportedly seen in Tellippalai.
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The incident comes as crime continues in the region, despite a continued massive military presence in the Tamil North-East.
Tamil parliamentarian Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam spoke on the militarisation of the Tamil homeland last month, telling Sri Lanka's parliament that “out of the 20 divisions of Sri Lanka’s military, you have 16 based in the North and East, of which 14 are based specifically in the North”.
