50 Die in Shelling of Sri Lanka Hospital

Doctor says aid workers flee as artillery hits makeshift wards
By Katherine Thompson,  Newser Staff
Posted May 13, 2009 9:13 AM CDT
50 Die in Shelling of Sri Lanka Hospital
A map of Sri Lanka shows the latest war zone and newly demarcated safe zone.

The hospital in Sri Lanka's war zone was shelled again today, killing more than 50 people and making it harder than ever for the remaining doctors to treat the wounded, the AP reports. The government has pledged not to fire on the land occupied by thousands of refugees, but this is the third time the region's only hospital has been hit.

Human Rights Watch combined information from witnesses and satellite images to contradict  the government's claims that it is not using heavy weapons in the area. The organization found that the Tamil Tiger rebels are shooting civilians as well. "Neither the Sri Lankan army nor the Tamil Tigers appear to have any reluctance in using civilians as cannon fodder," says the group's Asia director. (More Sri Lanka stories.)

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