Bomb attacks and the BBC

Recently civilians were killed by two brutal bomb attacks. One near Kilinochchi where 16 civilians were killed. Another in Colombo where 9 civilians were killed.

Here is what BBC said about the bombing in Colombo:

Bomb rocks busy Sri Lankan train

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7420231.stm

And here is what BBC did not say about the bombing in Kilinochchi:

Bomb rocks packed Tamil van

At least sixteen people have been killed and 3 injured in a bombing of a packed van in Vanni, Tamil rebel forces say.

The blast hit the van between Kilinochchi and Akkaraayan near Mu'rika'ndi , a suburb of Kilinochchi, rebel forces said.

They blamed the Sri Lankan military for the attack, the latest in a string targeting civilian vehicles.

The local authorities in Vanni say they defused several claymore bombs recently in main roads in Vanni.

Earlier today another claymore bomb near Mannaar killed 2 civilians including the assistant director of Fisheries.

In February 8 people died in an aerial attack at a civilian settlement near Pooneryn.

Sri Lankan Air force was blamed for that incident, although they routinely deny involvement in bombing civilians.

Toll 'could rise'

Local authorities said Friday's explosion occurred at 14:15 local time (09:45 GMT), and the area had been cordoned off.

Bodies have been pulled from the wreckage and rescue teams said the number of dead could rise.

Father Xavier, a local rescue worker told TFP 5 children were among the dead.

A passenger in another van Ragu Selvathurai, 43, told TFP the van was suddenly slowed after a "deafening noise".

"people were shouting 'bomb, bomb!' and scrambling to get out of the windows of the van.. I managed to jump out from the door. There was blood every where in the wreckage of the van in front and body parts were every where," he said.

Eye witness T A Vishali told PPC Tamil service the explosion took place as the van was moving out of Mu'rika'ndi.

"I ran to the place where the explosion happened. I saw people scream in pain."

The van doors were blown out and parts of it roof was torn off in the blast which left bloodstained cloths and bags strewn among the debris.

Battles are continuing in other parts of the Vanni, whereTamil rebel forces continue to thwart military offensives aimed at crushing them.

On last Monday rebel forces attacked military positions and recovered 5 army bodies and large quantity of weapons, according to rebel forces.

Warning

Correspondents say that number of deep penetration attacks by the Sri Lankan army has increased as the fighting intensified.

The Sri Lankan military have fought for a generation to stop the Tamils forming an independent state in the island's north and east.

About 70,000 people, mostly Tamils, have been killed since the civil war began in 1983.

Violence in the island intensified when a hard line Sinhalese politician Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected by the Sinhala majority as president of the country on a militaristic platform. Eventually the Sri Lankan government formally pulled out of a ceasefire agreement in January.

At the start of latest outbreak of hostilities, the Sri Lankan government had warned to wipe out the Tamil rebels with heavy-handed military offensives.

The warnings has been followed up by many claymore mine blasts, aerial bombings and explosions targeting civilian transport and settlements in Vanni, although civilians in the south have also become victims of explosions allegedly carried out by the Tamil rebel forces.

Analysts say that if the violence continues, the rebels may be forced to redeploy some forces from the battlefront to the interior for security.

Are you in the area of the blast? If you have any information you would like to share with the PPC you can do so using the form below:

(By the way the contents and quotes are imaginary. Report was about a claymore blast which killed 16 civilians recently in Vanni. The facts of this incident were based on Tamil Media reports. The report follows a BBC report about another bomb blast in the South where 9 civilians were killed. BBC only carried an elaborate report on the southern bomb blast and more or less blacked out the northern blast. This was produced here to show how blatantly biased western media is. They shamelessly follow the establishment wishes to manufacture consent for their morally bankrupt foreign policies while claiming lofty ideals. Policies which prolong the suffering for many people in the unreported world - Thanks BBC! So much for your objective reporting)