Gunmen fatally shot two ethnic Tamils and a Sinhalese man in separate attacks in Sri Lanka's volatile east, hours before a planned visit Saturday by presidential candidate and current Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, police said. The Tamil men, both aged 23, were shot dead by unidentified gunmen just before midnight in Valaichchenai village, 220 kilometers (135 miles) east of the capital, Colombo, said Rohan Abeywardene, the region's top police chief. Around six hours later, an ice-cream seller, belonging to the Sinhalese majority was shot dead in the neighboring eastern district of Ampara _ parts of which are under Tamil Tiger rebel control. The fresh outbreak of violence came as Rajapakse traveled to the coastal village of Oluvil, in Ampara, to address an election rally, The Associated Press reported.
