Muslims slain in Sri Lanka

THE bodies of 11 Muslim men were yesterday found hacked to death in a remote jungle in eastern Sri Lanka, the country’s military said, blaming Tamil Tiger rebels for the killings.

The men had apparently gone to repair an irrigation system when they were attacked, said chief military spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe.

One man is believed to have survived the massacre and was being treated in a hospital.

There was no immediate comment from the Tamil Tiger rebels.

Muslims are Sri Lanka’s second-largest minority after ethnic Tamils, who are mostly Hindu, and generally oppose the Tamil Tigers, who have accused Muslims of supporting the government.

The rebels also oppose Muslims cultivating land in areas they consider Tamil territory.

The killings came amid an upsurge in violence in the island nation that could undermine efforts by European mediators to bring the warring sides back to peace talks.

Separately, a Sri Lankan soldier was killed and another wounded in an overnight attack by suspected rebels in the country’s troubled north, the military said.