In a situation that seems to recur regularly in the apparently endless war, the Sri Lankan military has apparently once again shelled a makeshift hospital in the nation’s war zone, killing at least 50 people and leaving the already overwhelmed hospital unable to cope with the growing casualties.
The Sri Lankan government denied any role in the shelling, and insisted that the military had not fired artillery in the area in weeks. The denial holds considerably less weight given the wealth of satellite imagery and eyewitness accounts collected by Human Rights Watch, which show that the attacks have continued.
President Barack Obama touched on the conflict briefly today during his defense of the reversal on the release of detainee abuse photos. He urged the rebel faction (the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) to turn in their weapons immediately and cautioned the Sri Lankan government to halt its indiscriminate attacks on hospitals. Despite omnipresent predictions of quick victories, the history of the 26 year old civil war suggests neither of these is likely to happen any time soon.
