20,000 illegal firearms

20,000 illegal firearms circulating in Sri Lanka , leading to the escalation of the crime rate, the South Asia Small Arms Network said yesterday.
The network’s local programme coordinator Ranjith Srilal Piyaratna said: ”Illegal fire arms which have become a menace in the country, are responsible for the loss of lives and limb in several areas especially in Anuradhapura where trap guns have caused 400 deaths in the past year ”.
Mr. Piyaratna said most of the weaponry would have come into the country via the LTTE and other paramilitary forces and also the 1988-89 insurgency. eleven locations which produce modified T-56 rifles have been discovered in Buttala