Patients Killed in Cluster Bomb Attack on Sri Lankan Hospital

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Source: Guardian

More than 50 civilians were killed in fighting yesterday between Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan army that saw cluster bombs dropped on the last functioning hospital in the north of the country, aid agencies said.

The United Nations said 52 civilians were killed and 80 wounded both inside and outside a "safe zone" the government had promised not to attack.

Gordon Weiss, a spokesman for the UN, said the region's only remaining hospital in Puthukkudiyiruppu was evacuated early this morning after 16 hours of shelling that included a cluster bomb attack.

A dozen patients were killed in the shelling, which both sides deny came from them, although reports suggest air strikes were used against the hospital. Only the Sri Lankan army has such capability. Almost all the remaining wards have been evacuated.

A quarter of a million civilians may be trapped in the combat zone, according to the UN. The Tamil Tigers, or LTTE, have been fighting for a separate state for the Tamil minority since 1983 but the army claims they have been reduced to just 600 "armed combatants".

The attacks happened on the day the country marked its 61st anniversary of independence with a show of military strength in the capital, Colombo. In an address to the nation, the president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, said the army had been able to "nearly destroy terror".

more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/weather/2009/feb/04/srilanka-terrorism