"The Srilankan army continues to shell and bomb every place where people have sought asylum, especially those places which have been announced as ‘safe-zones’. Even as terrified Tamils flooded one such ‘safe-zone’, a barbaric incident took place. The army started heavy shelling. Three hundred people died on the spot, and many were injured. I saw it myself.” Thus said an E-mail from a Catholic priest to DBS Jeyaraj, 
senior political analyst of Sri Lanka. Jeyaraj didn’t disclose the identity of the priest for security reasons.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), an estimated 300 local staff members of the UN's humanitarian organisation are trapped in the Vanni area because LTTE refuses to let them go. Altogether, some 250,000 civilians are now trapped. "The government can't just blame everything on the LTTE and wash its hands off,” says Brad Adams, Asia Director of HRW. The latest artillery attack on the paediatric ward of Puthukkudiyiruppu hospital in Vanni, the last functioning health centre in the war zone, killed many, and most of them were children and women. Though it is not clear who fired on them, Dr Thurairajah Varatharajah, the top government health official in the area, said the shells appear to have been fired by the Srilankan army itself.
Amazingly, Srilanka's defence minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa told Sky TV's Alex Crawford that the attack was justified because hospitals are not allowed to be there inside war zones and that is what the area was when the shelling was done. Tragically, most people were unaware of the 48-hour time for safe passage offered by the government, Dr Satyamoothy, Government Medical Officer of Killinochchi, told BBC Tamil radio channel.....Continue
senior political analyst of Sri Lanka. Jeyaraj didn’t disclose the identity of the priest for security reasons.According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), an estimated 300 local staff members of the UN's humanitarian organisation are trapped in the Vanni area because LTTE refuses to let them go. Altogether, some 250,000 civilians are now trapped. "The government can't just blame everything on the LTTE and wash its hands off,” says Brad Adams, Asia Director of HRW. The latest artillery attack on the paediatric ward of Puthukkudiyiruppu hospital in Vanni, the last functioning health centre in the war zone, killed many, and most of them were children and women. Though it is not clear who fired on them, Dr Thurairajah Varatharajah, the top government health official in the area, said the shells appear to have been fired by the Srilankan army itself.
Amazingly, Srilanka's defence minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa told Sky TV's Alex Crawford that the attack was justified because hospitals are not allowed to be there inside war zones and that is what the area was when the shelling was done. Tragically, most people were unaware of the 48-hour time for safe passage offered by the government, Dr Satyamoothy, Government Medical Officer of Killinochchi, told BBC Tamil radio channel.....Continue
