Pesalai Church Attack
by Manish Swarup, Associated Press, June 17, 2006
A victim of the firing by Sri Lankan government soldiers at a Pesalai church, rests at a government hospital in Mannar, about 220 kilometers (138 miles) from Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, June 17, 2006. Sri Lankan troops stormed the northern village church, about 14 kilometers (9 miles) from Mannar, where about 200 Tamil civilians were seeking shelter Saturday, shooting, throwing grenades and then attacking fishermen in an assault that killed five people and injured 47 more, witnesses said. The military immediately denied the accusations, with the navy spokesman saying the village was actually attacked by Tamil Tiger militants, but numerous villagers, now being treated in the nearby government hospital, gave near-identical accounts of security forces storming the town and shooting civilians.
A Sri Lankan Army soldier stands guard in front of a church, on a deserted street of Mannar, about 220 kilometers (138 miles) from Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, June 17, 2006. Sri Lankan troops stormed the northern village church of Pesalai, about 14 kilometers (9 miles) from Mannar, where about 200 Tamil civilians were seeking shelter Saturday, shooting, throwing grenades and then attacking fishermen in an assault that killed five people and injured 47 more, witnesses said. The military immediately denied the accusations, with the navy spokesman saying the village was actually attacked by Tamil Tiger militants, but numerous villagers, now being treated in the nearby government hospital, gave near-identical accounts of security forces storming the town and shooting civilians.
 A woman sits besides her relative, a victim of the cross firing between Sri Lankan government soldiers and Tamil rebels, at a government hospital in Mannar, about 220 kilometers (138 miles) from Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, June 17, 2006. Tamil Tiger rebels attacked a Sri Lankan naval base Saturday in Mannar, killing six sailors, while rapid retaliation from the army and air force left up to 30 guerilla fighters dead, further heightening fears of a return to full-scale civil war.
A victim of the cross firing between Sri Lankan government soldiers and Tamil rebels recover at a government hospital in Mannar, about 220 kilometers (138 miles) from Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, June 17, 2006. Tamil Tiger rebels attacked a Sri Lankan naval base Saturday in Mannar, killing six sailors, while rapid retaliation from the army and air force left up to 30 guerilla fighters dead, further heightening fears of a return to full-scale civil war.
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