Vavuniya town was deserted as a result of Hartal

The protest was called by political party turned former militant group PLOTE against recent bomb attacks targeting civilians allegedly by the LTTE.

Shops and government offices were closed and the town was deserted as a result of the Hartal.

S Kannan, PLOTE political wing leader for Vavuniya, told journalist Dinasena Ratugamage that the protest was organised against the bomb attacks in Colombo, Dambulla and in Thachchanamaradamadu.

'Deliberately targeting' civilians

The PLOTE leader accused the Tamil Tigers of deliberately targeting the civilians.

At least 18 people died and 50 more sustained injuries on 02 February after an explosion hit a civilian bus in the central Sri Lankan town of Dambulla.

All communities; Tamil, Sinhala or Muslim are very well aware that PLOTE did not target civilians S Kannan, PLOTE

Military authorities accused the LTTE for the blast, which occurred at Dambulla bus station.

At least 11 people have been killed and nearly 100 injured in a suicide attack at the main railway station in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo.

Seven school children are among the dead, officials said.

A female suicide bomber blew herself up as a suburban train pulled into a station platform, police said.

School children killed

Eleven schoolchildren are among at least 18 people killed in a bomb attack on a bus in in Thachchanamaradamadu, near Mannar on 29 January, the Roman Catholic church says.

The LTTE accused Sri Lanka military of the attack.

	School children were killed in Colombo and Mannar

Denying any such attack military spokesman, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, accused the Tamil Tigers of attacking civilians in LTTE-held areas.

Asked about accusations that PLOTE is involved in killing people in the past, Mr. Kannan said his organisation "never attacked" civilians.

"All communities; Tamil, Sinhala or Muslim are very well aware that PLOTE did not target civilians," he said.

Those who wanted to travel to the city were seen turned back by a group of young people.