Chencholai bombing
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Chencholai bombing or Chencholai orphanage bombing is a disputed event in the Sri Lankan civil war. It took place on August 14, 2006 when the Sri Lankan Airforce bombed what they claimed to be a rebel LTTE training camp killing at least 19 children[1] between the ages of 16 and 18, all of them girls. The LTTE claimed those in the compound were students undergoing first aid training and the death toll was close to 55.[2]
After the incident the Sri Lankan government warned that children can be legitimate targets because the LTTE is well renowned for using child soldiers in the war. According to estimates by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) the LTTE appears to have recruited over 18,000 children as combatants since the start of the February 2002 ceasefire.[3]
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[edit] Incident & reactions
It later emerged that these girls were not orphans but had been brought to the camp located in a secluded area.The Sri Lankan government claimed to be monitoring the site since 2004 and claimed that it was a training camp and clearly stating that it was not mistaken or wrong target. This site has also been previously used as a militia training camp by the LTTE[1].
The Tamil Nadu state assembly in India passed a resolution termed the Chencholai orphanage bombing as 'uncivilized, barbaric, inhumane and atrocious'.[4]
The human rights organisation UTHR reported that LTTE had organised this residential camp against the parents wishes with the aim of recruiting some of these school children. The UTHR also pointed out that the LTTE had previously used this camp as a training center for its militia [2].
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| Background |
| Origins of the Civil War |
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• Origins of the Civil War |
| LTTE |
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• LTTE • Attributed Terrorist attacks • Child Soldiers |
| Major figures |
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• Mahinda Rajapakse |
| Indian Involvement |
| See also |
|
• Military of Sri Lanka |
United Nations spokeswomen Orla Clinton told the media that investigators confirmed that at least 19 students had been killed in the attack and added that the agency was investigating further.She was also quoted
| “ | What we know at the moment is that these seem to have been students between 16 and 18, A-level students, from the Kilinochichi and Mullaittivu areas, who were on a two-day training course in first aid | ” |
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UNICEF
UNICEF staff from a nearby office immediately visited the compound to assess the situation and to provide fuel and supplies for the hospital as well as counselling support for the injured students and the bereaved families.
| “ | These children are innocent victims of violence | ” |
said Ann M. Veneman, UNICEF Executive Director while UNICEF’s Joanne van Geiter said
| “ | At this time, we don’t have any evidence that they are LTTE cadres | ” |
[edit] SLMM
Retired major general of the Swedish Army, Ulf Henricsson the Head of the Nordic truce monitors SLMM said that his staff his staff had not finished counting the dead and that they couldn’t find any sign of military installations or weapons.[8]
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[edit] 
Sri Lanka Government reaction
Sri Lanka Government spokesmen Keheliya Rambukwela and Brig Athula Jayawardene told the media in Colombo that the orphanage was in fact a training and transit camp for the LTTE's military cadres. The camp, Jayawardene pointed out, did not look like an orphanage at all or any civilian structure for that matter. Even if it was granted that the victims were minors (under 18 years of age and girls ) they were soldiers alright, or soldiers under training, Rambukwela and Jayawardene argued."[9]The Sri Lankan refused to condemn or order any inquiry into the incident. The government also showed journalists, as Reuters reported, what appeared to be satellite footage of Tigers fleeing a training camp shortly after Kfir jets bombed it.[10] However, a journalist who viewed the tapes stated
| “ | there was nothing in the footage that reporters could see to suggest any military activity except that the location was secluded and had lush green trees in the neighbourhood | ” |
.[11].
[edit] Testimony of survivors
On September 1st, Sri Lankan police said they arrested three young women -aged 18, 19 and 20 - whom they said were injured in the airstrike and were subsequently brought to a hospital in central Sri Lanka for treatment. Inspector General of Police Chandra Fernando said the three young women all claimed that they were taken by a member of the Tamil Tigers to a camp deep within rebel territory for first aid training but when they reached the camp, they were forced to undergo weapons training.[12] The Defense Ministry also released a video of the 3 women confessing that they were taken by the LTTE for forced training sessions. (Link to Video).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "61 girls killed in airstrike, 8 dead in Colombo blast (2nd Roundup)", Monsters and Critics, 14 August 2006.
- ^ http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1219476.ece
- ^ "Rock cleared, complainants blamed", Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka, 15 February 2007.
- ^ Tamil nadu government slams bombing
- ^ Sri Lankan air force bombing kills scores of students
- ^ Innocent victims of war UNICEF
- ^ Sri Lankan schoolgirls killed
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4794827.stm
- ^ Sri Lankan government justifies the massacre of school students
- ^ "Sri Lanka says age of enemy no concern", Reuters, 15 August 2006.
- ^ "Unicef: Bombed orphans were not Tamil Tigers", Mail and Guardian Online, 15 August 2006.
- ^ "Police in Sri Lanka arrest 3 suspected female rebels at hospital", International Herald Tribune, 1 September 2006.
