At least 39 persons have been killed and another 30 injured in shooting incidents throughout the country from the start of this year, police said.
According to the police two motorcyclists were shot dead in cold blood on Thursday in Mannar in the north this week.
The assailants who are yet to be identified had left the scene after the shooting while the two victims were pronounced dead shortly before arrival to a local hospital, police said.
They said on Tuesday a 42-year-old man employed at a restaurant at Beragala–Halie–Ela was shot dead after five people burst into the restaurant and opened fire while the hotel owner and the victim were watching television. The hotel owner was also injured in the shooting while the motive was believed to be over a personal dispute, according to the police. In the most recent incident a 44-year-old man was gunned down in Talangama on Friday.
According to police two unidentified men, on a motorcycle, had opened fire at the victim in Robert Gunawardena Mawatha in Talangama.
He later succumbed to his injuries at the National Hoapital in Colombo.
They said 62 shooting incidents have been reported throughout the country since the start of this year and the majority of them have been attributed to organised crime outfits.
On the other hand some of the shootings had been triggered owing to personal disputes and property issues, police said.
However, they confirmed that the majority of the shootings and killings had been carried out by organised criminals working for their clients.
There have been six incidents of shootings minus fatalities or injuries, according to police.
A large number of homicides have also been reported throughout the country since the start of this year.
In the most recent incident, a 50-year-old woman was found stabbed to death inside a room at a hotel in Bandarawela on Thursday night.
The victim had consumed poison prior to being stabbed and a hunt is on for her male partner who accompanied her to the hotel.