Seventeen years later, the date falls on a Wednesday once again — just as it did in 2009.

“Looking at the hospital and hearing the civilians cry, you felt only disaster,” a key medical staff member at Mullivaikkal makeshift hospital told media on Wednesday (13.05.2009).

More than 100 civilians, including many children, patients, a medical staff member, a voluntary doctor and an ICRC worker, were killed in a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) artillery attack that targeted the hospital premises, which was a junior school, and the surrounding area that comprised many tarpaulin huts.

The hospital struggled with only a few medical staff as the medical facility had become a prime target for the SLA, which had targeted it for the third time within five days. Civilians struggled with starvation and lived under bunkers as bullets fired by the SLA from two coastal ends whizzed across the so-called No Fire Zone, which had been turned into a killing field by the SLA, completely disregarding the Geneva Conventions.

Many of the victims were children, the doctors said. Around 40 of the critically wounded on Wednesday were children.

No reports were available on casualties outside the hospital premises as the road remained congested with vehicles moving southwards amid shelling and gunfire overhead. Initial estimates varied from 200 to 500 killed within the previous 24 hours.

There were more than 2,000 seriously injured inside the safety zone. Around 1,000 of these patients required urgent treatment, but there were no medicines available, the doctors said.

Around 250 critically wounded people had to be treated on that day. Only a few were treated as the SLA barrage destabilised the hospital, forcing the medical staff and patients to seek shelter under bunkers.

Many of the wounded had to die before the ICRC ship managed to evacuate them. The ICRC ship returned to the Trincomalee port empty for the second consecutive day as heavy fighting prevented the evacuation of the wounded. The vessel was also unable to unload some 25 metric tonnes of food and other essential items.

Thirty of the 100 dead bodies were identified and taken over by relatives.

The volunteer doctor killed was identified as Senthilkumaran. A hospital staff member, Gopalakrishnan, was also killed. The slain ICRC worker was identified as Mayuran Sivagurunathan. His mother was also killed in the shelling by the SLA.

There were still 75 dead bodies, both identified and unidentified, in the vicinity of the makeshift hospital. Some relatives said they were unable to take over the bodies under the prevailing circumstances.

Ambulances were also destroyed in the attack.

Source: https://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=29351