Colombo, Sri Lanka, Oct 1, SPA -- Gunmen fatally shot two ethnicTamils and a Sinhalese man in separate attacks in SriLanka's volatile east, hours before a planned visitSaturday by presidential candidate and current PrimeMinister Mahinda Rajapakse, police said. The Tamil men, both aged 23, were shot dead byunidentified gunmen just before midnight in Valaichchenaivillage, 220 kilometers (135 miles) east of the capital,Colombo, said Rohan Abeywardene, the region's top policechief. Around six hours later, an ice-cream seller, belonging tothe Sinhalese majority was shot dead in the neighboringeastern district of Ampara _ parts of which are under TamilTiger rebel control. The fresh outbreak of violence came as Rajapakse traveledto the coastal village of Oluvil, in Ampara, to address anelection rally, The Associated Press reported.--SPA1255 Local Time 0955 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/293398