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Hundreds killed in Sri Lanka: doctor

Associated Press - May 11, 2009

Krishan Francis, Colombo – A barrage of artillery in Sri Lanka's northern war zone killed at least 257 civilians and wounded 814 overnight, a government doctor said yesterday. He described it as the bloodiest day he had seen in the Government's offensive against the Tamil Tiger rebels.

The rebel-linked TamilNet website said about 2000 people were feared dead. The Sri Lankan military denied that it staged any missile attack.

V. Shanmugarajah, a doctor working in the war zone, said he feared many more might have been killed because some bodies were being buried on the spot without being brought to the makeshift hospital he runs. He described seeing shells fly through the air, with some falling close to the hospital, sending many to take shelter in bunkers. A military spokesman, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, said it was using only small arms in its effort to wipe out the Tamil Tigers, and there "is no shelling taking place".

The Government had sent medical supplies into the war zone in the past days, but a shortage of physicians, nurses and helpers had made treatment difficult, Dr Shanmugarajah said. "We are doing the first aid and some surgeries as quickly as we can. We are doing what is possible. The situation is overwhelming; nothing is within our control."

Dr Shanmugarajah said he had sought the help of volunteers to dig graves.

Two weeks ago the Government said it would cease firing heavy weapons into the tiny coastal strip that remained under rebel control in an effort to avoid civilian casualties. However, medical officials in the area have reported that air strikes and artillery attacks have continued unabated, despite the presence of an estimated 50,000 Tamil civilians in the tiny conflict zone.

Reports of the fighting are difficult to verify because the Government bars journalists and aid workers from the area.

UN figures compiled last month showed that nearly 6500 civilians had been killed early this year as the Government renewed its efforts to end its 25-year civil war with the rebels.

The Government has brushed off international calls for a humanitarian ceasefire, saying the beleaguered rebels would use any pause in fighting to regroup.

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