Colombo, February 13: The chief of the Sri Lankan Navy is to take up the issue of an attack against a Sri Lankan naval ship from a flotilla of Indian fishing boats, a government spokesman here said Wednesday.

Commander Wasantha Karannagoda, who is currently on an official visit to India, would raise the issue, among other things, with Indian officials, spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters.

The Sri Lankan Navy said Feb 5 that up to six sailors had gone missing after a naval boat was fired upon from a flotilla of 400 Indian fishing boats, which were poaching off the seas off Talaimannar in the north.

The Navy said it had lodged a protest with the Indian embassy in Colombo, calling for a thorough investigation into the incident.

"We have evidence in the form of one survivor who maintains that fire emerged from Indian fishing boats," Navy spokesman Commander D. P. K. Dassanayake said.

The Sri Lankan Navy maintains close monitoring of its northern seas with India. The Navy's sea patrol troops have often been accused of firing at Indian fishing boats
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