What Happened
On 29 January 2008, a bus carrying school children and teachers from Mannar Sinapandivirichchan GTMS came under a claymore attack near the Madhu church complex around 2:30 PM. Twenty civilians were killed and twenty-one injured, seventeen seriously. Among those killed were 14 school students (aged 11-16), a school principal, a teacher, a nurse, the bus driver and conductor. The victims were displaced people who had taken refuge at the Madhu church. All 20 dead were buried in a single grave at the church. The attack was attributed to the Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the Sri Lankan military, who had conducted 22 claymore attacks on civilians in the area.
Perpetrators
Sri Lankan Army Deep Penetration Unit
Documentary Evidence
Warning: These images document the aftermath of this attack and may be disturbing.
21 images from documentary reports. Click to enlarge.
Sources & References
- NESOHR - Lest We Forget Volume II
- NESOHR report May 2008
- https://sangam.org/2008/05/NESoHR_Claymore.pdf?uid=2912