**Gunmen in Sri Lanka have opened fire on a bus carrying supporters of the main opposition presidential candidate, killing one person, police say.**They say at least four people were wounded in the attack on supporters of former army chief Gen Sarath Fonseka.
Unidentified attackers riding on a motorbike sprayed bullets into the bus in the island’s south, police say.
Sri Lanka’s presidential elections take place on 26 January amid a heightened sense of political tension.
Previous elections have been marred by violence.
Tuesday’s fatal shooting, near the town of Hungama in the south of the island, was the first in the run-up to the current vote. There have been dozens of other, less serious, instances of violence ahead of the election.
In a statement, the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) said that two attackers arrived on motorbikes and fired at the tyres of the bus, before opening fire on its rear windows and passengers inside.
“One person was killed instantly, another opposition supporter was hospitalised and several others had minor injuries,” a local police officer, who declined to be named, told the AFP news agency.