Armed men burn down Maithripala's Eravur office

The newly established office of the common opposition's presidential candidate in the predominantly Muslim town of Eravur in Batticaloa district was burnt down by unidentified men in the early hours of Thursday morning. Over twenty armed men arrived at the office at 12:30am local time and began smashing up the posters and banners, before setting the place alight with petrol and running from the scene. Eleven people, who were inside the office at the time of the attack, have escaped without injury, said Tamil news reports. (See here and here). Eravur police are investigating the incident.