5 years today - Indiscriminate shelling continues, India says 'killings must stop', calls for political solution
23 April 2014
23 April 2009 – Further shelling of churches and ICRC regions
23 April 201423 April 2009 – Further shelling of churches and ICRC regions
The church in Valaignarmadam was shelled for the second consecutive day, injuring and killing several social welfare personnel, reported Tamilnet.
Further instances of shelling of coastlines where injured Tamil civilians were looking to be evacuated by the ICRC ship were reported from the ground.
23 April 2009 – India calls for political solution and an end to killings of Tamil civilians
The ongoing carnage came as the Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, calling for the killings to stop, warned that only a political solution would ensure true lasting peace.
Speaking to media after an hour long meeting on the situation in Sri Lanka he said,
“We are very unhappy at the continued killing of innocent Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka. These killings must stop. The only lasting solution will come from political efforts to address the real concerns of the Tamil people, giving them a life of dignity within the Sri Lankan mainstream.”
