LTTE child soldiers behind Welikanda massacre

Manjula Fernando

COLOMBO: Police investigators probing the Omadiyamadu massacres have made the shocking discovery that the ruthless killings had been part of LTTE training for their child recruits.

Government Defence Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella quoting investigating officers told the media yesterday they have found that three child cadres were involved in shooting down the 12 workers at Omadiyamadu.

Rambukwella was hosting the regular Government media briefing on the current security situation at the Gramodaya Centre in Colombo.

The massacre which took place on the day the EU ban was made public in the local media, brought a lot of criticism on the LTTE. The organisation denied the charge fearing further isolation by the international community.

The Minister referring to their denials charged that the attack which took place at Omadiyamadu where innocent civilians had been working on an irrigation canal, bore all the hallmarks of the Tigers.

The labourer who survived the shooting told the investigating officers that after they were lined up, three children stepped back and fired at them. Of the two who survived, one had taken off before the shooting. The injured worker is receiving treatment at Polonnaruwa hospital.

The 12 workers who were gunned down had their hands tied up behind the back before being lined up for shooting. The child cadres had searched their pockets for money before the killing.

"One can imagine the ruthlessness of their training. They don't have an iota of respect for human life," the spokesman stressed describing the manner it was carried out and the use of children for the brutal act.

Giving a debriefing of the latest security situation Military Spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said the LTTE killed seven security persons and 19 civilians during the past six weeks.

In different incidents, 12 soldiers, two police constables and two home guards had been inured in LTTE attacks.

Brigadier Samarasinghe also said the LTTE, against their pledges before the international community, was again using anti-personnel mines to attack the military and civilians.

"The third such incident after the ceasefire was reported from Kilali in Jaffna. An army officer was injured in this incident," he said.