In Gaza, Sri Lanka, A Horrendous Weekend of Violence

This has been a bad weekend for innocent families who've been in the vicinity of violent conflicts.

First, an Israli artillery fire killed seven members of a Palestinian family as the death count at the time of writing stands at twelve with many injured. Palestinians on a Gaza beach including members of one family. Incredibly, there was no condemnation from the US government. Despite the massacre of innocent civilians US State Department spokesman offered the tired old line about Israel having the right to defend itself. The strike prompted Hamas to end a sixteen month long ceasefire with Israel. Read the story from the Boston Globe.

Second, a Tamil family in Mannar (Northwest Sri Lanka) was massacred yesterday. The LTTE (the Tamil terrorist organization) claims that it was the work of the Sri Lankan Army. Click here for the story from Tamil Eelam news (caution: the pictures are gruesome).

Meanwhile the government run Daily News puts the responsibility for the massacre squarely on the LTTE. A portion of their report (since it cannot be directly linked) follows:

"A family of four have been hacked to death by the LTTE in Vankalai, Mannar around midnight on Thursday, the Media Centre for National Security said yesterday.

The entire family had been close to the Security Forces and cooperating with them, defence sources said. The deceased were identified as Sinniyah Moorthi Martin, 38, (father), Anthony Mary (known as Chithra), 27, (mother), Anne Lakshitha, 9, (daughter) and Dilakshan Anpiya 7 (son).

Mary has been brutally raped before being murdered. The police are investigating the massacre, sources added.

The killing of four members of the same family is clearly an act of the LTTE according to intelligence reports, said Defence Affairs Spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella. He said this was part of the LTTE's strategy to divert the attention of international community from their unilateral withdrawal from Oslo talks.

The Army denies all the charges and accusation made by the LTTE in connection with this killing, Military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe told the Daily News. It is clearly the work of the LTTE, he said.

Investigations revealed that the LTTE cadres were behind the massacre. The family had returned from India after living there as refugees. The family recently refused to return India although they were forced to do so by the LTTE.

The family was associating with police and Army personnel in this area, which could have angered the LTTE to seek revenge from the family, defence sources said.

The father has been stabbed and hung in the living room, the children stabbed and hung in the front room and the mother has been raped and stabbed to death and left on the floor of the house."

When will they ever learn....!