Dozens Dead As Sri Lankan Hospital Hit By Shelling

At least 47 people were killed today, and more than 50 injured, when a shell struck a makeshift hospital treating casualties of the fighting in north-eastern Sri Lanka.

A doctor working in the hospital said the shell appeared to have been fired from government positions. The UN described the attack as a war crime.

The attack was confirmed by two members of the medical staff working in a hospital set up in Mullaivaikal East primary school. The Sri Lankan military has denied using heavy weapons against civilians in the area and has questioned the veracity of the accounts.

According to the Sri Lankan ministry of defence, its forces are currently advancing into the last remaining stronghold of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The UN estimates that between 50,000 and 100,000 civilians remain trapped inside the tiny pocket of land.

Medical staff said this morning's attack happened at 7.30am, when a single shell landed on the admissions ward.

Dr V Shanmugarajah told The Guardian that 47 people died and 56 were injured. The dead included a member of the medical staff and two volunteers.

A second doctor, Dr Thurairaja Varatharajah, the government-appointed regional health director for Mullaitivu, put the death toll at 49, and said it was expected to rise.

A UN official in Colombo said that fighting was clearly continuing despite concerns expressed by the UN secretary general last night. Expressing dismay at the attack on the hospital, the official said: "It is clearly a war crime."

The Sri Lankan military said that this morning its infantry crossed an earth barrier constructed by the Tigers, and that following the initial thrust, special forces moved into the area and wiped out the remaining rebel fighters in the area. The military said its troops had advanced a further 300 meters.

The UN yesterday condemned attacks in Sri Lanka as a "bloodbath", following days of heavy shelling that killed hundreds of civilians trapped in the war zone. Colombo has denied using artillery or aircraft, and accused the Tigers of using mortars to fire on civilians for propaganda purposes. There is no way of verifying any of the claims or casualty figures, because independent journalists are denied access to the conflict zone.