14 Aug 2006: 53 Tamil school girls killed by

Sri Lankan air strike on children's home

14 August 2015
On 14th August 2006, fifty-three Tamil school girls and 3 staff members
were killed, and over 150 injured, when four Sri Lankan Air Force jets flew
over the Vanni, dropping sixteen bombs over the Sencholai children's home
in Vallipuram for orphaned girls.
In a macabre warning of the attacks against hospitals within the designated
'No Fire Zones' in 2009, the Sencholai attack took place despite the
Sencholai's GPS coordinates being given to the Sri Lankan military via
UNICEF and the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), in order
to protect it as a humanitarian zone.

See the list of victims here, and their photos here.

Also see a survivors account of the airstrike here, and photos of the
aftermath here andhere.
Sri Lankan government defends killing of children
The Sri Lankan government was swift to claim that all the girls who were
massacred were "terrorists" at a "training camp" of the LTTE - a claim
which was categorically rejected by UNICEF and international ceasefire
monitors of the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM).
The Sri Lanka's Inspector General of Police, Chandra Fernando, claimed at
the time that three girls who were admitted to hospital with injuries "told
Police that the place was not an orphanage."
The Sri Lankan news site, the Daily News reported:
'The Government and Security Forces denied the LTTE's claim
and emphasised that it was a military training camp used by
the LTTE to train hundreds of youth and the target was taken
after compiling enough evidence to prove it was an LTTE
military camp.'
Defending the killing of the children, the Sri Lankan military's
spokesperson, Brigadier Athula Jayawardana said two days after the air
strike: "if the children are terrorists, what can we do?"
Echoing his statement, the government spokesperson, Keheliya
Rambukwella, added:
"Even it is a 17-year-old child in terms of age, they are
soldiers who are prepared to kill whoever comes in front of
them."
"Therefore the age or the gender is not what is important."
Unsurprisingly, in 2010, a Presidential Commission of Inquiry, led by a
former Supreme Court Judge, Nissanka Udalagama, cleared the Air Force of
any violations of law.
Reiterating the stance of the military and government, the
inquiry concluded the children's home was a LTTE training camp, and
blamed the LTTE for "indirectly causing the deaths".

Children were innocent say international witnesses

However, the allegation that the children's home was an LTTE training camp
was categorically disputed by international aid workers and ceasefire
monitors in the area at the time.
In a statement, Ann M. Veneman, Executive Director of UNICEF
said: "These children are innocent victims of violence,"
We call on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and ensure
children and the places where they live, study and play are protected from
harm," she added.
UNICEF's Colombo chief, Joanna Van Gerpen told the BBC:
"As of this time, we don't have any evidence that they are
LTTE cadres.From what we understand at this point, these
children were from surrounding communities."
"We did see more than 100 [wounded] in the local hospitals,
some with loss of limbs, head and shrapnel injuries."
The SLMM monitors said they found at least 10 bomb craters and an
unexploded bomb at the site.
The Head of the SLMM, Ulf Henricsson said:
We couldnt find any sign of military installations or weapons.
This was not a military installation, we can see [that].
The Swiss government described the bombing as an outrage.
Despite such unanimous consensus that the attack was targeted at an
orphanage during the ceasefire, the IRCR and the Co-Chairs of the peace
process - US, Japan, EU and Norway - did not condemn the attack.
Nine years on, as the OHCHR Investigation in Sri Lanka (OISL) is set to
release its inquiry into mass atrocities on the island between 2002 and
2011, the families of the children who were massacres still await justice.
See a full list of all those killed below.
School: Puthukkudiyiruppu Mahavidhyalayam

Thambirasa Lakiya DOB: 26-03-89, Mullivaikal west

Mahalingam Vensidiyoola DOB: 07-10-89, Mullivaikal west
Thuraisingam Sutharsini DOB: 28-07-89, Ward 10, PKT
School: Visuvamadu Mahavidhyalayam
Nagalingam Theepa DOB: 29-03-87, Puthadi, Visuvamadu
Thambirasa Theepa DOB: 07-02-87, Valluvarpuram, Redbarna
Thirunavukkarasu Niranjini DOB: 29-11-88, Puthadi, Visuvamadu
Raveenthirarasa Ramya DOB: 14-11-88, Thoddiyadi, V. madu
Kanapathipillai Nanthini DOB: 05-10-88, Koddiyadi, Visuvamadu
Vijayabavan Sinthuja DOB: 24-05-88, Koddiyadi, Visuvamadu
Naguleswaran Nishanthini DOB: 11-04-89, Thoddiyadi, V.madu
Tharmakulasingam Kemala DOB: 09-09-87, Kannakinagar,
Arulampalam Yasothini DBO: 18-01-88, Puththadi, Visuvamadu
School: Udayarkaddu Mahavidhyalayam
Muthaih Indra DOB: 08-08-88, Suthanthirapuram centre
Murugaiah Arulselvi DOB: 14-07-88, Suthanthirapuram centre
Sivamoorthy Karthikayini DOB: 13-02-88, Vallipunam
Santhanam Sathyakala DOB: 20-08-86, Vallipunam
Kanagalingam Nirupa DOB: 11-02-89, Visuvamadu
Kanagalingam Nirusa DOB: 11-02-89, Vallipunam
Navaratnam Santhakumari DOB: 28-05-88, Kaiveli
Nagalingam Kokila DOB: 12-02-87, Vallipunam
Sivamayajeyam Kokila DOB: Kuravil
Shanmugarasa Paventhini DOB:
Balakrishnan Mathani DOB: 09-05-88, Vallipunam
School: Mullaitivu Mahavidhyalayam
Sivanantham Thivya DOB: 30-05-88, Vannankulam
Thambirasa Suganthini DOB: 18-02-88, Alampil,
S Vathsalamary DOB: 20-11-86, Manatkudiyiruppu
Thanabalasingam Bakeerathy DOB: 03-02-87, Mullivaikal west
Thanikasalam Thanusa DOB: 02-12-87, Kallappadu
Pathmanathan Kalaipriya DOB: 23-09-88, Kovilkudiyiruppu
Markupillai Kelansuthayini DOB: 14-07-88, Vannankulam
Rasamohan Hamsana DOB: 29-05-87, Alampil
School: Kumulamunai Mahavidhyalayam

Vivekanantham Thadchayini DOB: 31-01-88, W 10, PTK

Santhakumar Sukirtha DOB: 08-08-87, Ward 7, Kumulamunai
Uthayakumaran Kousika DOB: 22-08-87, Kumulamunai
Nallapillai Ninthija DOB: 03-03-88, Ward 6, Kumulamunai
Veerasingam Rajitha DOB: 28-02-88, Ward 5, Kumulamunai
School: Vidhyananda College, Mulliyavalai
Thamilvasan Nivethika DOB: 02-12-88, Ward 2, Mulliyavalai
Suntharam Anoja DOB: 12-09-89, Kumulamunai
Puvanasekaram Puvaneswari DOB: 06-06-89, W 4, Mulliyavalai
Kiritharan Thayani DOB: 28-12-89, Thannerutru, Mulliyavalai
School: Chemmalai Mahavidhyalayam
Mahalingam Vasantharani DOB: 23-03-88, Alampil, Chemmalai
Thuraisingam Thisani DOB: 06-12-88, Alampil, Chemmalai
Vairavamoorthy Kirithika DOB: 12-07-87, Alampil, Chemmalai
Chandramohan Nivethika DOB: 04-01-89, Alampil, Chemmalai
School: Oddusuddan Mahavidhyalayam
Sellam Nirojini DOB: Koolamurippu, Oddusuddan
School: Muruhananda Mahavidhyalayam
Tharmarasa Brintha DOB: 06-01-89, 189/1 Visuvamadu
Thevarasa Sharmini DOB: 09-03-89, 90, Periyakulam, Kandavalai
School: Tharmapuram Mahavidhyalayam
Varatharaja Mangaleswari DOB: 24-07-89, 577, 13 U, T.puram
Rasenthiraselvam Mahilvathani DOB: 04-12-88, Tharmapuram
Nilayinar Nivakini DOB: 04-04-89, Kaddakkadu, Tharmapuram
School: Piramanthanaru Mahavidhyalayam
Kubenthiraselvam Lihitha DOB: 05-02-87, Kalaveddithidal, Puliyampokanai
Names of staff killed
Chandrasekaran Vijayakumari (Age 27)

Kandasamy Kumarasamy (Age 48)

Solomon Singarasa (Age 65)
S Jeyarubi (Age 20)