Crimes against Tamils : Mullai Puthukudiyiruppu Town Bombed – 09.09.2008. None Killed

Mullai Puthukudiyiruppu Town Bombed – 09.09.2008. None Killed

I was awakened from my sleep by the roar of the planes. There were several bombers circling the Kilinochchi town, where I stay. I checked my watch and it was 4.00 a.m. I ran into the room where the water pump and the generator are kept. It is comparatively safer than my house as that room has a concrete roof. Luckily the planes vanished without dropping any bombs. I couldn’t believe it, as it is customary for a few bombs to be dropped at random. Hence I went back to bed only to hear the sounds of the planes coming back. So I had to seek refuge again in the said room. I have a bunker in the back garden away from my house. But I didn’t dare to go there in the dark fearing the snakes. My torch was not bright enough as batteries are old and in short supply in Kilinochchi. The planes came back a few times and off they went for good. The time was past 5.00 and I did not feel like going to bed after that. I guessed that they must have gone to Puthukudiyiruppu as that is the place that gets bombed quite often.

News started trickling in a little later. I heard that it was Puthukudiyiruppu that was bombed and that several bombs had been dropped over Puthukudiyiruppu. One of the bombs has fallen in the premises of the Sivasubramanium Vidhiyalaya damaging parts of its main building, its boundary wall and the play ground. (see pic)

Rest of the bombs fell on the business area and private residences nearby. A grinding mill belonging to the Puthukudiyiruppu M.P.C.S, a sewing shop and book depot were completely demolished.

The office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was only 200 metres from where the bomb fell. The Puthukudiyiruppu hospital was 800 metres. The Divisional Secretariat, the Divisional Education Office, Banks and more than 150 shops were also in the vicinity.

The GeneralManager of the Puthukudiyiruppu M.P.C.S. stated that the society had incurred a loss of Rs.789,000.00 by the society alone.

The Principal of the Sivasubramnium Vidhiyalaya Mr.R.Selvanayagam stated:

“My house was in the ward 2 of Puthukudiyiruppu. But my family and I had to move out from there due to a recent bombing. We are now in the school hostel. When I woke up at the sound of the bombers I came out to see the entire sky lit with Para-lights. I told my wife and children to run for safety and I ran towards the front part of the school. As the bombers approached the school I fell prostrate on the ground. When the bomb fell I was tossed up by the explosion and I fell again. Soil clumps fell all over me. There was water and wet mud as well falling on me. First I thought I was bleeding badly. I wanted to get up and run but run where? It was pitch-dark also. I later realized that they came from the pit created by the bomb. The pit was so deep that water has collected in it. The water and the mud came from that pit.

When it dawned I found the boundary wall, school buildings and the play ground were damaged. There are 1300 students attached to our school. Yesterday a further 150 students, who have come as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) also joined our school. Thank God the children were not at school at the time of the bombing.

Our school is now temporarily closed. The reopening of it will be according to the decision taken by the Regional Education Office and the UNICEF.”

Statement from Mrs.Francis Thavam, who was injured:

“I am originally from Chundikuli Jaffna. We came here in 2006 to visit our daughter, who was blessed with a child. Since the war broke out we could not return to Jaffna. The road was blocked at Muhamalai. At the time of the incident we were five – four children and I – in the house and we were fast asleep. I didn’t realize as to what had happened. House was covered completely by smoke and it was dark as well. Even though I realized that some things were falling on me I could not get up as I was partly buried in it. It took more than half an hour for the neighbours to take me out of the heap I was covered in. I am now at the hospital. I do not know where my children are. I don’t know what to do.”

K.Mylvaganam
From Vanni.