Aerial attacks on civilians on the increase - LTTE

(December 20, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) "Two aerial attacks on 17 December in Kilinochchi in the Hudson Road area and another two aerial attacks in Mullaithivu in Mullivaikal on 19 December, all targeting heavily populated areas killed a baby and two more civilians and injured seven children and 17 more civilians, THE Political Wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam said in a statement.

According to the Statement, "in the 17 December aerial attacks at 7.30am and again at 9.30 around the Hudson road area in Kilinochchi another five month old baby Ravisshankar Rajinthan and a 29 years old man Selvaratnam Jesuthan were killed. Four days earlier on 13 December five month old Jeyaruban Ajanthan sleeping in his baby hammock was killed in the same area by SLA shelling."

"The second aerial attack on that day was near the Vaddakachchi hospital. Dr Krishnapillai of the hospital said that 70 in-patients and about 550 outpatients were at the hospital at the time. The injured victims of the first attack were being treated at this hospital. Two young brothers aged 8 and 10 from the hospital neighborhood were injured in this second attack. Among the total of 13 injured civilians on that day are the parents of the five month old baby killed."

"In the 19 December aerial attacks at 9.45am and 12.00noon, on Mullivaikal East in Mullaithivu 11 civilians were injured. Among the injured are four children. One old man, aged 65, died due to shock. These two attacks took place near the Mullivaikal MV School."

The continuing heavy rains in Vanni has flooded all the rudimentary bomb shelters that people had built all over Vanni causing extreme panic among civilians during these increasing aerial attacks.

"This is also the time of GCE OLD examinations and during the above aerial attacks students were writing GCE OL exams at two schools near the bomb sites, Ramanathapuram GTMS in Kilinochchi and Mulivaikal MV School in Mullaithivu. Students frightened of the attack wanted to run out of the exam hall but naturally were prevented from doing so."

Killed on 17 December

Ravisangar. Rajithan, baby aged five months
Selvaratnam. Jesuthan, male aged 29 years

Killed on 19 December

Kandasamy Rasenthiram, male aged 65 years

Injured on 17 December

1. Josep. Tharmadevi, female child aged 15 years
2. Sivaranjan. Mithushan, child aged 10 years with lacerated right thigh
3. Sivaranjan. Sinthuja, child aged 8 years with lacerated chest and abdomen
4. Ravisangar. Sujanithi, female aged 28 years with lacerated leg, body and left eye vision lost
5. Mahendran. Ravisangar, male aged 36 years with lacerated left leg and scalp
6. Nallathambi. Nandakumar, male aged 44 years with abdominal injury
7. Yogarasa. Yogeswaran, male aged 30 years with lacerated limb
8. Sinnathambi. Jeevan, male aged 28 years with lacerated left face
9. Rasa. Mahendran, male aged 59 years with lacerated both chest and leg
10. Sinnathambi. Luxmy, male aged 57 years with Multiple lacerated face
11. Satgunanathan. Nanthini, female aged 21 years
12. Balasubramanium. Thangamalar, female aged 55 years
13. Karan, male aged 32 years

Injured on 19 December

1. Chitra, child aged 5 years
2. Kuberan, child aged 9 years
3. P Sobana, child aged 13 years, was injured in the head.
4. Savithri, female aged 15 years
5. Thevapariya, female aged 16 years
6. Subashini, female aged 20 years
7. Kesavan, male aged 16 years
8. Maruthan, male aged 22 years
9. Nahamany, male aged 45 years
10. Thevarasa, male aged 50 years
11. Maruthanayagam, male aged 32 years - Sri Lanka Guardian