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Artillery kills hundreds of civilians in Sri Lanka, says official
A Sri Lankan health official says the civilian death toll from a massive artillery barrage overnight in the island's northern war zone has risen to 378.
- AP
- Published: 09:10 May 10, 2009
- Sri Lankan ethnic Tamils take shelter at a makeshift hospital in Mullivaaykaal, Sri Lanka.
- Image Credit: AP
Colombo: A Sri Lankan health official says the civilian death toll from a massive artillery barrage overnight in the island's northern war zone has risen to 378.
V. Shanmugarajah, a physician working in the war zone said the bodies of 378 people had been brought to the makeshift hospital that he runs by Sunday afternoon. He says 1,122 more people have been wounded.
"We are doing what is possible. The situation is overwhelming" nothing is within our control," he said.
Shanmugarajah described seeing shells fly through the air, with some falling close to the hospital, sending many to take shelter in bunkers.
The rebel-linked TamilNet website accused Sri Lankan forces of launching the attack, a charge the military denied.
Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said it was only using small arms in its effort to wipe out the Tamil Tiger rebel group and that there "is no shelling taking place."
The government vowed two weeks ago to cease firing heavy weapons into the tiny coastal strip that remained under rebel control in an effort to avoid civilian casualties. However, medical officials in the area have reported that air strikes and artillery attacks have continued unabated, despite the presence of an estimated 50,000 ethnic Tamil civilians in the tiny conflict zone.
Reports of the fighting are difficult to verify because the government bars journalists and aid workers from the war zone.
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