Heavy shelling and cluster bombing reported - 7-May-2009

Indiscriminate artillery barrage continued throughout Wednesday night and in to Thursday morning. Day time when ICRC ship arrived it fell silent. But it restarted fiercely once the ship left, said Tamil National Reporter. 

Many shells hit Mullivaikkal beach area and inside the civilian areas in the morning. 

Heavy shelling and cluster bombing started in the evening around 6 pm and still continues said our reporter. Sri Lankan Forces are indiscriminately pounding the civilian areas with shells and cluster bombs, he said. The shells and cluster bombs are exploding everywhere in Mullivaikkal Central, East areas. It is a blanket attack covering all areas leaving no place for the civilians to move for safety.

Heavy casualty is feared due to shelling and cluster bombing in highly congested areas, said our reporter. The actual casualty is not clear since most of the people remain inside the bunkers due to continued shelling and bombing. And people are not taking dead bodies to hospital, instead bury in the close locality. And hospital is unable to register these deaths.


According to hospital sources the Mullivaikkal hospital is already congested with injured and their care takers. There is not enough space to admit the newly injured in the evening attack, the hospital sources said. In the new place where the Mullivaikkal hospital now function has not got adequate facilities and not enough space to admit the huge number of patients who were injured within these few days.

Due to the SLA’s brutal attack the hospital service also affected. The injured civilians ran for cover under hospital bunkers to escape from shell attack.
 
Today ICRC ship has taken 25 MT foods to be distributed among the civilians inside the safe zone. And more than 400 injured civilians and their relations were transported to other hospitals. With the food the ICRC ship has carried antibiotics, according to health staff it can be used for at least 10 days. But other urgent drugs were not received.

The doctors are handling other patients too in addition to the people  injured in shell and cluster attack. Many children have been diagnosed with Hepatitis.