Sri Lanka Attacks said to killed dozens in hospital
By MARK McDONALD
Published: May 13, 2009
HONG KONG — Up to 50 people were killed Wednesday when a primary school in Sri Lanka that had been converted into a field hospital was shelled for the second day, news agencies reported.
Forty-nine people were reported to have been killed Tuesday when a mortar round hit the compound.
Dr. Thurairaja Varatharajah, the top government health official in the war zone, told The Associated Press the attack killed at least 50 people, including patients and relatives, and wounded about 60 others. He said heavy shelling continued throughout the day.
Separately, a local worker for the International Committee of the Red Cross and his mother were killed in the shelling, a spokesman for the Geneva-based humanitarian agency said.
The 31-year-old man was one of some 20 Sri Lankans working for the Red Cross in the dwindling two-square mile conflict zone, where thousands of civilians remain trapped on a sandy strip as intense fighting between the Tamil rebels and government takes place around them.
“We are not sure if it was a direct hit or indirect hit, but they were killed in cross fire,” said Marçal Izard, a Red Cross spokesman. “They seem to have been sleeping in trenches reinforced by sandbags, like most of the people living in the zone.”
Dozens of civilians are being wounded and killed on a daily basis, Mr. Izard said, but the I.C.R.C has not been able to confirm the strikes on the hospital, which is run by local authorities. The humanitarian organization has also been unable to land a ferry to pick up seriously wounded from the zone since May 9 due to fighting as the government tries to rout the rebels. Over 500 people were ferried out during the last crossing, he said.
The hospital is the last remaining medical center serving the estimated 50,000 civilians trapped in the war zone in Sri Lanka.
Confirmations of the shelling and the casualties Tuesday were given by Dr. Varatharajah and by a political official who was quoted on a Web site used by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or L.T.T.E.
The doctor’s account was similar to one given on the pro-rebel Web site, citing an administrative officer identified as K. Tharmakulasingam, who said 47 people had been killed and 55 wounded.
It has not been possible in recent months to verify the many charges and countercharges in the bitter war between the government and the Tamil Tigers. Independent journalists and most aid agencies have been barred from the war zone.
The battle zone has shrunk to a narrow costal strip as the military has steadily surrounded and slowly squeezed the dwindling guerrilla force. Humanitarian groups say the civilians are prevented from fleeing by the rebels who seek to use them as human shields.
The Tamil Tigers blamed the army for the artillery barrage Tuesday.
The government has denied using artillery, heavy weapons or airstrikes in the area — a claim widely disputed by human rights groups and foreign governments — and has accused the rebels of shelling their fellow Tamil citizens.
Sharon Otterman contributed reporting from New York.
Published: May 13, 2009
HONG KONG — Up to 50 people were killed Wednesday when a primary school in Sri Lanka that had been converted into a field hospital was shelled for the second day, news agencies reported.
Forty-nine people were reported to have been killed Tuesday when a mortar round hit the compound.
Dr. Thurairaja Varatharajah, the top government health official in the war zone, told The Associated Press the attack killed at least 50 people, including patients and relatives, and wounded about 60 others. He said heavy shelling continued throughout the day.
Separately, a local worker for the International Committee of the Red Cross and his mother were killed in the shelling, a spokesman for the Geneva-based humanitarian agency said.
The 31-year-old man was one of some 20 Sri Lankans working for the Red Cross in the dwindling two-square mile conflict zone, where thousands of civilians remain trapped on a sandy strip as intense fighting between the Tamil rebels and government takes place around them.
“We are not sure if it was a direct hit or indirect hit, but they were killed in cross fire,” said Marçal Izard, a Red Cross spokesman. “They seem to have been sleeping in trenches reinforced by sandbags, like most of the people living in the zone.”
Dozens of civilians are being wounded and killed on a daily basis, Mr. Izard said, but the I.C.R.C has not been able to confirm the strikes on the hospital, which is run by local authorities. The humanitarian organization has also been unable to land a ferry to pick up seriously wounded from the zone since May 9 due to fighting as the government tries to rout the rebels. Over 500 people were ferried out during the last crossing, he said.
The hospital is the last remaining medical center serving the estimated 50,000 civilians trapped in the war zone in Sri Lanka.
Confirmations of the shelling and the casualties Tuesday were given by Dr. Varatharajah and by a political official who was quoted on a Web site used by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or L.T.T.E.
The doctor’s account was similar to one given on the pro-rebel Web site, citing an administrative officer identified as K. Tharmakulasingam, who said 47 people had been killed and 55 wounded.
It has not been possible in recent months to verify the many charges and countercharges in the bitter war between the government and the Tamil Tigers. Independent journalists and most aid agencies have been barred from the war zone.
The battle zone has shrunk to a narrow costal strip as the military has steadily surrounded and slowly squeezed the dwindling guerrilla force. Humanitarian groups say the civilians are prevented from fleeing by the rebels who seek to use them as human shields.
The Tamil Tigers blamed the army for the artillery barrage Tuesday.
The government has denied using artillery, heavy weapons or airstrikes in the area — a claim widely disputed by human rights groups and foreign governments — and has accused the rebels of shelling their fellow Tamil citizens.
Sharon Otterman contributed reporting from New York.
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