More Skeletons Unearthed in Sri Lanka Excavation: Mass Grave Includes Women, Children
Posted: January 18, 2014 Filed under: Asia, War Room | Tags: BBC, Bishop (Catholic Church), Hindu temple, Ketheeswaram temple, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Mannar, Mass grave, Rayappu Joseph, Sri Lanka, Tamil Tiger 3 Comments
Scientists are yet to determine the age of the bodies
Four more human skulls have been unearthed at a mass grave discovered last month in northern Sri Lanka.
BBC News, Colombo – Charles Haviland reports: The remains were recovered during excavation work at the site in Mannar district. They bring to 31 the number of skeletons or partial skeletons found there. (Ed. note: other reports say as many as 36)
This is the first mass grave to have been unearthed and forensically examined in the former war zone since the end of the separatist war in 2009.
The grave was discovered by construction workers laying a water pipe
Thousands of civilians perished in shelling towards the end of the conflict against Tamil Tiger insurgents, but it is possible the find dates from considerably longer ago.
‘Children and ladies’
There has been no clear determination of the age of the bodies, or who the victims or killers were.
A government medical official overseeing the excavation, Dhananjaya Waidyarathne, said the bodies had been buried in layers.
“Unfortunately the top layer of the bodies have been disturbed by the road construction works,” he said.
Some of them had been fragmented by earth-moving machinery before the discovery was reported.
Mr Waidyarathne also said he was “very much worried” that no signs of clothing or human-made artefacts had been found in the mass grave.
He did not elaborate further on the possible timescale of the tomb, which is situated adjacent to Thiruketheeswaram, a prominent Hindu temple.
The Roman Catholic Bishop of Mannar, Rayappu Joseph, told the BBC there should be an independent international investigation into it.
He said he understood the bodies included those of “small children and ladies”, and that it might have been that a busload of people were killed…
Related articles
- Sri Lanka mass grave count hits 36 (skynews.com.au)
- A month into digging, 36 skeletons recovered from mass-grave in Mannar (oneislandtwonationsblogspotcom.typepad.com)
- Several layers found in Sri Lanka mass grave: Experts (oneislandtwonationsblogspotcom.typepad.com)
- Mass grave fuels fear of thousands buried in Sri Lanka war zone (oneislandtwonationsblogspotcom.typepad.com)
- Mass grave fuels fear of thousands buried in Sri Lanka war zone (trust.org)
- Several layers found in Sri Lanka mass grave: experts (thehindu.com)
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