Opis zdjęcia

Protests have erupted across Sri Lanka\'s war-ravaged north and east over the rape and murder of an 18-year-old Tamil student in Punguduthivu, a small island west of the Jaffna Peninsula. Vithya Sivalohanathan, an advanced-level student from Punguduthivu College disappeared on May 13 after leaving for school. Her body was later found in an abandoned house. She had been raped. Police have so far arrested four people suspected of committing the gruesome crime. On May 15, students and teachers in Punguduthivu protested over the murder while demanding protection for all students. Campaigns have also been held at several other places throughout Jaffna. On Wednesday, the day the murder suspects were scheduled to appear in court, residents held a strike and business shutdown in the Jaffna district, closing schools, businesses and stopping all transport. Sympathetic workers struck for several hours. Thousands of people gathered at various places in Jaffna to express their anger, including near the court premises. Many residents suspect that criminal gangs are operating throughout the region with the backing of the security forces.