Shops and offices in Trincomalee also closed on Tuesday.

R G Dharmadasa reporting from the north-eastern town in Sri Lanka said that there's a tense atmosphere in the town.

A post mortem showed the students had gunshot wounds.

The Tamil Tiger rebels have accused the Sri Lankan security forces of killing the students, although the army deny any involvement and the government has announced an inquiry into the deaths.

After a call by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to bring the killers to justice the government appointed a committee of inquiry.

R. Sampanthan, parliamentary group leader of the TNA told BBC Sandeshaya (Sinhala Service) that the killing was “state terrorism unleashed on the Tamils”.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday, government spokesman Nimal Siripala de Silva said that that "any oversight or abuse of power will be dealt with severely".

Elsewhere, military officials said one soldier was wounded when an anti-personnel mine exploded near the northern town of Vavuniya.

The military blamed the attack on the Tamil Tigers, but there has been no comment from the rebels.

The incident is the latest in a series of attacks that targeted army personnel last month, raising concerns about the peace process in Sri Lanka.