Members of Sri Lanka army bomb disposal unit inspect the lorry containing a large haul of claymore mines, explosives and a few very latest assault rifles at Wattala in the outskirts of Colombo Sunday 13 August 2006. EPA/M.A.PUSHPA KUMARA

About 100 girls were injured when 16 bombs were dropped on the children's home in the rebel-held Mullaitivu district, 360 kilometres north-east of Colombo, the pro-rebel website Tamilnet reported. There was no independent confirmation of the incident. The army denied the attack but said the air force had bombed targets in the area. A few hours later, a claymore mine detonated in Colombo, apparently targeting Pakistani High Commissioner Basheer Ali. The blast killed at least eight people. Ali narrowly escaped and was unhurt. The blast occurred in Kollupitiya, less than a kilometre from the president's house, police said. Four of those killed were army commandos escorting Ali. A jeep carrying the commandos took the full impact of the blast. At least seven other cars were damaged, including another vehicle in the high commissioner's motorcade, and buildings nearby also received damage. Government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella blamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for the attack, saying it might have been aimed at the Pakistani envoy after reports that Pakistan was providing military assistance to the Sri Lankan Government to fight the rebels. A separate government statement said the reason for targeting the envoy was that the Pakistani government was providing military aid and other assistance in order to counter the rebels. 'Pakistan, being a leading player in the Asia region in eradicating terrorism, is now being targeted by the Tigers too,' the statement said. The statement also said that the attack may have been carried out to divert attention from the 'defeat' that the rebels are facing in the north. In Mullaitivu, the airstrikes on the Chencholai Children's Home in Vallipunam came as the schoolchildren were attending a two-day course on first aid, Tamilnet said. The rebels called upon the United Nations children's agency UNICEF and the international Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM), which is overseeing the 2002 ceasefire between the rebels and the government, to visit the site. A UNICEF spokesman in Colombo said the group was trying to communicate with their representatives in the north to confirm the incident. However SLMM spokesman Thorfinnur Omarsson said that a SLMM representative had visited the scene of the airstrikes in Mullaitivu. 'Our representative saw 19 bodies of children at the scene and was told that the other bodies had been either removed to nearby hospitals or taken away to the respective houses,' he said. He quoted eyewitnesses as saying that four Kfir jets had dropped four bombs each, and one of them had not exploded. 'The damage has clearly been caused by an airstrike,' he said. The incidents came as fighting in the past two weeks in northern and eastern Sri Lanka has been the worst the country has seen since the ceasefire. At least 450 civilians, rebels and soldiers have been killed. The fighting began as the army moved to reopen a disputed irrigation canal captured by the rebels in the Mavilaru area, 260 kilometres north-east of Colombo. On Sunday, a spokesman for the Scandinavian team monitoring the fragile ceasefire said the LTTE had offered to reopen talks with the government, but on Monday the rebels denied they had made such an offer. Talks between the government and the LTTE resumed early this year after being stalled for three years but came to a halt again in April. Sporadic fighting continued Monday in the north, but no immediate casualty reports were available. The government relaxed a curfew for parts of the Jaffna peninsula, enabling civilians to buy food, but was expected to reimpose it later in the evening. The entire peninsula has been under a curfew since Friday. © 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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Sri Lankan State terrorism	Aug 14th, 2006 - 14:40:11
Sri lankan state terrorism
Comparison	Aug 14th, 2006 - 19:46:49
LTTE targets Sri Lankan military and Sri Lankan military targets Tamil Children!
Roger Philps	Aug 14th, 2006 - 19:48:53
I thought Sri Lankan government was concerned about child soldiers in Tamil Tigers. Atleast those accused child soldiers would've had a chance to fight for their life instead of bombed in mass!
M. Narayan	Aug 14th, 2006 - 19:51:43
Remember, Pakistan is the biggest supplier of aerial bombs, multi barrel rockets and artillery shells to the Sri Lankan military. Which help the GOSL massacre Tamil civilians. Note: India was not happy with Sri Lanka - Pakistan relationship.
Luis Kesinger	Aug 15th, 2006 - 02:33:36
This is outrageous. How come the International community is silent? Sri Lankan government must be tried for war crimes.
Jone Paul	Mar 2nd, 2007 - 13:21:51
This is outrageous. I didn't know that a State can be this cruel. UN must put sanctions on this terrorist state!
Reka	Mar 2nd, 2007 - 13:22:47
Want to see videos and pics and international monitoring missions confirmation that Sri Lankan Singhala air force deliberately bombed these children?? http://senchcholai.blogspot.com
Tamil Christians Fear Future As Fighting Inten	Mar 2nd, 2007 - 13:29:08
Sri Lankan Bhuddist government had attacked churches/temples in the past deliberately!!! http://www.spcm.org/Journal/spip.php?article6904
Sri Lankan Authoratarian state	Mar 2nd, 2007 - 13:31:10
18 journalists are arrested and several innocent civilians and activists arrested. Sri Lankan state oppression goes on. A family controls the whole country! http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2007/02/21/fury_at_deten tions_under_sri_lanka_anti_terror_rules/
Amnesty International	Mar 2nd, 2007 - 13:34:04
Sri Lanka: Incommunicado detention/ fear of torture or ill-treatment/ detention without charge http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA370032007?open&of;=ENG-2AS Sri Lanka is a failed state. The Singhalese majority is bent on wiping out the Tamil christian/hindu/muslim minority!

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