Mullivaikal Hospital bombing

Mullivaikal Hospital bombing
Mullaitivu district shown within Sri Lanka
Location	Mullivaikal, Mullaitivu District, Sri Lanka
Date	May 12, 2009 8.00 AM
Attack type	Artillery fire
Weapon(s)	Artillery
Death(s)	49
Injured	50
Suspected perpetrator	Sri Lankan Army

Mullivaikal Hospital was a makeshift hospital located in the Safe Zone in northern Sri Lanka. On the morning of 12 May 2009 it was hit by an artillery mortar allegedly by the Sri Lankan Army, killing at least 49 patients and injuring more than 50 others.However, the Sri Lankan Government denies the allegation stating there is no evidence.^[1][2][3]

Background and Incident

Human Rights Watch accuses the Sri Lankan military of shelling hospitals in the Safe Zone indiscriminately with artillery and attacking them aerially which they believe constitutes a war crime; they've also said that the hospitals are clearly marked^[4] despite the fact that the group has no access to the structures in question. The Red Cross was supposed to have shipped some of the patients out of the Safe Zone the next day according to Tamilnet.^[5]

See also

• List of massacres in Sri Lanka
• List of attacks attributed to Sri Lankan government forces
• List of attacks attributed to the LTTE

References

1. ^ "49 patients killed as shell hits Lanka hospital". The Times of India. 12 May 2009. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/49-killed-in-Lanka-hospital-shelling/articleshow/4513061.cms. Retrieved 31 May 2009. 
2. ^ "Doctor says 49 killed in Sri Lanka hospital attack". The Guardian. 12 May 2009. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8502775. Retrieved 31 May 2009. 
3. ^ "Sri Lanka war zone hospital 'hit'". BBC News. 12 May 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8045135.stm. Retrieved 31 May 2009. 
4. ^ "Sri Lanka: Repeated Shelling of Hospitals Evidence of War Crimes". Human Rights Watch. 8 May 2009. http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/05/08/sri-lanka-repeated-shelling-hospitals-evidence-war-crimes. Retrieved 31 May 2009. 
5. ^ "SLA attacks hospital, 47 massacred". TamilNet. 12 May 2009. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=29337. Retrieved 31 May 2009.