Shelling Kills Dozens at Sri Lankan Hospital
May 12th, 2009Via: Guardian:
At least 47 people were killed today and more than 50 injured when a shell struck a makeshift hospital treating casualties of the fighting in north-eastern Sri Lanka.
A doctor working in the hospital said the shell appeared to have been fired from government positions. The UN described the attack as a war crime.
The attack was confirmed by two members of the medical staff working in the hospital, set up in Mullaivaikal East primary school. The Sri Lankan military has denied using heavy weapons against civilians in the area and has questioned the truth of the accounts.
According to the Sri Lankan ministry of defence, its forces are currently advancing into the last remaining stronghold of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The UN estimates that between 50,000 and 100,000 civilians remain trapped inside the tiny pocket of land.
Medical staff said this morning’s attack happened at 7.30am local time (0200 BST), when a single shell landed on the admissions ward.
Dr V Shanmugarajah told the Guardian 47 people were killed and 56 were injured. The dead included a member of the medical staff and two volunteers.
A second doctor, Dr Thurairaja Varatharajah, the government-appointed regional health director for Mullaitivu, put the death toll at 49, and said it was expected to rise.
A UN official in Colombo said the fighting was clearly continuing despite concerns expressed by the UN secretary general last night. The official said of the attack on the hospital: “It is clearly a war crime.”
