Aug 16, Colombo: The Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA), the powerful union of Sri Lankan doctors has decided to launch a token strike Friday, August 17 to protest a grenade attack on the residence of a doctor.

Accordingly, all the doctors at the government hospitals island wide will strike work tomorrow except for some doctors in few hospitals who will not strike on humanitarian grounds.

The doctors of the Colombo hospitals already have walked away at 12 noon today.

The doctors decided to launch the strike after a grenade was discovered near the house of a member of the Sri Lanka Medical Council, specialist doctor, Dr. Lalantha Ranasinghe in Dehiwala.

The Bomb Disposal Squad and the Anti-Vice Squad have been deployed to the location, the Police Spokesperson Senior superintendent of Police Ajith Rohana has said.

The GMOA says that the attack is suspected to be due to the stand of Dr. Ranasinghe against the private medical college.

The union says several other members of the Sri Lanka Medical Council have been attacked similarly due to the same reason.