5 civilians killed, 16 wounded in air strikes, hospital reports blood shortage

5 civilians killed, 16 wounded in air strikes, hospital reports blood shortage

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=27874 (FOR GRAPHIC PICTURES).

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 31 December 2008, 04:26 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers attacked a civilian settlement near Murugananda school in Murasumoaddai on Paranthan - Mullaiththeevu Road killing two females of a family and a male on the spot. Another man, who was seriously wounded, succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. 16 civilians, including a couple, were wounded. The attack has targeted three civilian settlements in Murasumoaddai Wednesday around 8:00 a.m. The indiscriminate bombardment on fleeing civilians, Internally Displaced Person's huts, close to the ICRC Karaichchi branch office, a school, temple and agricultural lands aims at instilling fear at the minds of the civilians in Vanni, observers said.

A motorcyclist escaped with wounds, but his bike was thrown 70 meters away from the road.
Medical Superintendent of Vanni's main hospital at Tharmapuram, Dr. S. Sathiyamoorthy, has placed the hospital and the surrounding area on red alert for blood shortage as Sri Lanka Army (SLA) launched artillery attack on the village after the carnage by the SLAF.

SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
A patient seriously wounded in his head, being rushed to the hospital at Tharmapuram by volunteers
SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
A civilian volunteer bringing a seriously wounded mother

SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
A wounded female being rushed to hospital
Sarath Fonseka on civilian casualties
Sri Lanka Army Commander Sarath Fonseka, in an interview to Business Today on December 11, 2008, said: "We have been exemplary in adhering to the policy of Zero Damage to Civilians." According Fonseka, there were only 24 civilians confirmed killed in the two and a half year war.
The Sri Lankan air strike targeted civilian houses behind Murugananda school, two settlements of refugees, one at Chelliah Shop Junction and the other behind Cheaththukka'ndi Amman temple at Murasumoaddai. A few hours later, the SLAF fighter jets returned to the same village and dropped bombs while a cow herder, was moving away with his cows from Paranthan to his native village, Tharmapuram. Two others were also wounded in the second bombardment.

The cow herder wounded in the second bombardment was identified as Mayalaku Vijayaratnam, 24. The other two civilians wounded were Nadarasa Thavanesan, 36, and Columbus, 24,

Meanwhile, a 29-year-old male, T. Sasikaran, was seriously injured when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired artillery shells targeting settlements in 2nd Mile Post. Mr. Sasikaran wounded in his head was rushed to hospital in unconscious state and is at the stage of coma, according to the latest update from the medical sources Wednesday night.

24-year-old Juda Margarat Aseervatham, 55-year-old Asservaatham Maryamma and Markandu Sivanandan were killed on the spot.

52-year-old Chandrabose and 37-year-old Kannan, two of the wounded who were admitted at Tharmapuram hospital, succumbed to their injuries at the Intensive Care Unit.

The wounded civilians in the first bombardment on three localities were identified as I. Nirmalan, 15, S. Ragulan, 21, Arumaiththurai Jesinald, 26, Ramachandran Kumanan, 30, Selvarajah Kulendran, 33, K. Jeyasri, 38, Somasundaram Chandrakumar, 43, Annakkodi Chandramary, 45, Vellaichamy Annakkodi, 49, S. Balasundaram, 51, Palaniayappan Subramaniyam, 52, Ranjithamalar, 58, and Saravana Bavananthan, 62.

SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
An elderly civilian wounded in SLAF bombardment
SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
Medical staff attending the wounded at Tharmapuram hospital

SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
SLAF bombardment close to the Karaichchi branch office of the ICRC. A cow killed in the air strike is lying in front of the office with ICRC flags and markings.
SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
A heavily loaded land master is passing the site bombed by SLAF. Many refugees were fleeing from SLA shelling in Paranthan area amid SLAF bombardment.

SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
Bombed locality at Murasumoaddai
SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
A house damaged in SLAF bombardment
SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
A crater near an IDP hut
SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
Another crater on the side of the Paranthan Road
SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
A motorbike hit by bomb shrapnels
SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
Indiscriminate bombardment by SLAF on Murasumoaddai
SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
SLAF bombs also hit agricultural lands
SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
A crater alongside Paranthan Mullaiththeevu Road

SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
Civilians fleeing SLA shellilng

SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
A wounded civilian at Tharmapuram hospital
SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
Tharmapuram hospital received around 20 wounded from SLAF air strikes and SLA shelling on Wednesday
SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
A mother killed in SLAF bombardment
SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
A male killed in SLAF bombardment in Murasumoaddai
SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
Another man killed on the spot at Murasumoaddai in the indiscriminate bombardment on civlians
SLAF bombardment on Murasumoaddai on 31.12.2008
A woman killed on the spot