About 100 assailants damaged windows and parked vehicles but did not gain entry to the Maharaja media group building in Colombo as some employees resisted by throwing stones back at the mob, police said.

The reason for the attack was not known immediately, but some of the attackers claimed they were sent there by an official of the ruling political party.

They also chanted slogans claiming they were backing the Tamil rebels who were defeated last year.

The Maharaja media group operates three television stations and three radio stations.

Its main broadcast studios were torched in January 2009, but no arrests were made. The latest attack came ahead of the April 8 parliamentary elections.

Groups advocating media freedom, such as Reporters Without Borders, said intimidation and violence against Sri Lanka's independent media had increased in the run-up to January's presidential election, adding that the state-controlled media openly favours the ruling party and its candidates.

Courtesy: DPA