2ND LEAD (ADDS PHOTOS)

Brutal attack on civilians, assurance to Mukherjee gone with the wind in no time

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 January 2009, 15:40 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army has launched another brutal attack on civilians inside the 'safety zone,' killing 23 civilians since Wednesday noon within not less than 12 hours after giving assurance to the visiting Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee. At least 121 civilians have been wounded in the artillery barrage, according to medical sources. The dead included a child residing in an orphanage in Paarathi puram and one of the wounded is the Chuthanthirapuram parish priest of the Church of South India (American Mission). The artillery barrage continues to the time of this reporting.

The orphanage, which has come under artillery attack of th Sri Lanka Army is Chentha'lir (Senthalir) Illam, where more than seventy children perished during the December 2004 tsunami. It is run by the Centre for Women’s Development and Rehabilitation (CWDR).

The artillery attack continues to target civilian population in Moongki'laa'ru, Redd Barna settlement, Udaiyaarkaddu, Chuthanthirapuram, Theavipuram and Va'l'lipunam.

Photos from the makeshift hospital in Udaiyaarkaddu follow:



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