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16 killed in shelling of Sri Lanka hospital
Shells hit a make-shift hospital in Sri Lanka's war zone, killing 16 patients, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The ICRC said in a statement on Tuesday that the temporary facility in Putumattalan was shelled on Monday. It did not say who was responsible for the attack in an area where government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels are locked in fierce combat. "We are shocked that patients are not afforded the protection they are entitled to," said Paul Castella, head of the ICRC delegation in Colombo. "Once more, we call on both parties to meet their obligation under international humanitarian law to spare at all times the wounded and sick people, medical personnel and medical facilities," he was quoted as saying by AFP. Sri Lanka's army is pushing ahead with a massive offensive to crush the rebels, who have been accused by the government of using civilians in the war zone as "human shields". Didja ever notice how, according to the papers, the Lankans seldom shoot at anything other than hospitals? Posted by: Fred 2009-02-11 |
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