Gunmen fire on buses carrying minority Muslim voters in Sri Lanka

Gunmen have fired on a convoy of buses carrying minority Muslim voters in Sri Lanka on Saturday, hours before polling in presidential elections got under way, reports NDTV.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, but a policeman said the attackers had burnt tyres on the road and set up makeshift road blocks to ambush the convoy of more than 100 vehicles.

"The gunmen opened fire and also pelted stones," a police official in Tantirimale, 240 kilometres north of Colombo said. "At least two buses were hit, but we have no reports of casualties."

Muslims from the coastal town of Puttalam were travelling to the neighbouring district of Mannar, where they were registered to vote, the police official added.

Police reinforcements rushed to the area and cleared the obstructions on the road and escorted the convoy so that passengers could cast their ballots.

The incident came as police and troops were locked in a tense standoff in the Tamil-dominated northern peninsula of Jaffna where residents complained of military road blocks ahead of voting.

Sri Lankans have begun voting in a hotly contested presidential election where former military strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa's family is seeking a return to power after five years.