The printing press of the Uthayan news paper office in Jaffna has been set on fire by an unidentified group this morning, the editor of the newspaper said.
An armed group stormed the newspaper office at around 5.00am today, chased away all the employees before entering the printing press and dousing the printing machines with petrol and setting them on fire, Thevanayagam Premanand told Ada Derana.
They also threw stacks of newspapers, prepared for distribution, into the fire before leaving the premises, the editor said.
He stated that printing machines have been completely destroyed by the fire and that a problem has now risen regarding the safety of his workers.
The incident is the latest in a series of brutal attacks against the Jaffna-based newspaper, and its employees over the past several years and comes just 10 days after the Uthayan offices in Kilinochi was attacked by masked assailants.
At least four employees were injured on April 03 when armed assailants attacked the Kilinochchi distribution office of the Uthayan newspaper and its workers.
