Madhu school bus bombing

The Madhu School bus bombing, also known as Thadchanamadhu claymore attack, was the bombing of a school bus carried out on January 29, 2008, in rebel LTTE controlled area in Thadchanamadhu in Mannar, Northern province of Sri Lanka. The bombing killed 17 Tamils, including 11 school children, and injured at least 14 more people. The LTTE and NESHOR accused the Sri Lankan Army ’s deep penetration unit for the attack but the Army denied the allegations. This attack was the second attack on a civilian bus in the month of January in Sri Lanka[5][6][7][3]

Madhu school bus bombing
Mannar District within Sri Lanka
LocationMadhu, Mannar, Sri Lanka
DateJanuary 29, 2008
14:30[1] (UTC+5:30)
Attack type
Remote bombing
WeaponsClaymore Mine
Deaths17 ( 6 Adults and 11 School Children)[2]
Injured14
PerpetratorSri Lankan Army’s deep penetration unit[3][4]

Background

On January 2, 2008, the government of Sri Lanka officially pulled out of the cease fire signed in 2002.The area lies near the border between Sri Lankan Army and rebel LTTE controlled areas and around 22 claymore attacks had taken place earlier killing 62 people.Students were returning from Mannar Sinapandivirichchan Government Tamil Mixed School travel through this route daily.[3]

Incident

On 29 January 2008 a bus carrying civilians was hit by a claymore mine that resulted in the death of 17 civilians including 11 school children and injuring 14 more people. This incident took place in the town of Mannar about 1 km from the Madhu Church which is a LTTE rebel controlled area.[1][8] The pro-rebel Tamilnet reported that the civilian bus was hit by a claymore that was triggered by Sri Lankan Army’s deep penetration unit. It further claimed that the victims were students and teachers returning from a sporting event.[1] The Sri Lankan Army denied any responsibility and claimed that there was no military unit operating in the area at that time.[9]

See also

References
  1. B. Muralidhar Reddy (2008-01-30). "11 schoolchildren killed in Sri Lanka". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 2008-05-21. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
  2. Mathew N. Schmalz (9 January 2015). "A Pilgrimage to Madhu: A personal look at Sri Lanka's holiest shrine". America Magazine. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  3. "Collection of NESoHR's Human Rights Reports" (PDF). Tamilnet. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  4. "Impunity Reigns in Sri Lanka" (PDF). Pearl Action. p. 49. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  5. "Civilians pay dearly".
  6. "20 killed, 14 wounded, SLA attacks bus carrying school children in Madu". Tamilnet. 4 August 2017.
  7. Frances Harrison (6 September 2012). Still Counting the Dead: Survivors of Sri Lanka’s Hidden War. Granta Publications. pp. 81–. ISBN 978-1-84627-471-8. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  8. "'School children killed' in Mannar". BBCSinhala. BBC. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
  9. "Colombo denies LTTE charges of attack on school bus". Dawn. 4 August 2017.

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