Two men who had robbed a textile shop at Chunnakam had attacked the policemen with a kris-knife when they had tried to intervene, said the police official.

Policemen Nimal Bandara and P.S. Nawaratne are receiving treatment at Jaffna Teaching Hospital in stable condition, hospital sources say.

There have been reports of a sword-wielding gang carrying out robberies on a daily basis in Jaffna.

The north’s chief minister has expressed surprise as to how such robberies could be possible with a presence of 150,000 soldiers in the area.

However, police say the situation in Jaffna is normal except for the Chunnakam incident.