Scorched earth, craters mark Sri Lanka's war zone

Coventina

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Sat May-23-09 03:16 PM
Original message

Scorched earth, craters mark Sri Lanka's war zone

Source: Associated Press

NORTHEAST COAST, Sri Lanka (AP) � Sri Lanka's former war zone is a wasteland, its earth scorched and pocked by craters. Cars and trucks lie overturned near bunkers beside clusters of battered tents.

The government has denied firing heavy weapons into what had been a battlefield densely populated with civilians. But the helicopter tour the military gave U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and a group of journalists Saturday revealed widespread devastation.

Civilians who escaped the zone said they came under intense shelling from both the rebels and the government.

"We ran for our lives from the shelling in the north," said one man who gave his name as Krishnathurai. "It was coming from both sides, the Tamil Tigers and the military, and we were stuck in the middle."

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gVoaDFmbCYS-Usz9ACDRIengj21QD98C3T480

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Vehl

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Sat May-23-09 05:05 PM
Response to Original message

1. K&R

But government doctors in the area � as well as human rights groups and foreign leaders � said intense shelling continued, killing hundreds of civilians. The U.N. Human Rights Council has planned a special session on Sri Lanka on Monday in Geneva amid international calls for a war crimes investigation into the military's conduct.

According to private U.N. documents, at least 7,000 civilians were killed in the final months of fighting.

I just hope that this Investigation is not blocked by China, yet again.

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TankLV

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Sat May-23-09 06:42 PM
Response to Original message

2. And we have New Orleans...

Edited on Sat May-23-09 06:42 PM by TankLV

and there wasn't even a war...

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bemildred

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Sat May-23-09 06:45 PM
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3. And Russia has Chechnya.

The US has Iraq and Afghanistan.
It's like it's a fad now.

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twitomy

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Sat May-23-09 06:56 PM
Response to Original message

4. Scorched Earth has been around as long as war has been around.

Hence "War is Hell" William Tecumseh Sherman

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