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Was it a training camp for LTTE combatants, an orphanage or an in-house-training facility for students? These are the burning questions that have not been comprehensively answered as the Government and the LTTE continue to trade charges over the incident at Vallipuram in Mullaitivu last Monday that resulted in the death of 42 young girls and injured about 100.

The Air Force says the building was targeted only after it was identified as an LTTE training base and that it had been under surveillance from 2004. The Air Force has provided aerial footage of the base prior to the incident and after to prove its stand.

According to a government official who served in the area, an orphanage named ‘Sencholai’ which operated at this site had been shifted to Kilinochchi more than a year ago and there was no official record on who was using the building since then.

Questions have also arisen as to how a group of girls, were permitted to take part in a training workshop on first aid during schooldays without the knowledge or approval of educational authorities in the region.

One eyewitness told The Sunday Times that last Thursday, the LTTE had reportedly escorted the schoolchildren to this site for non-military first aid training on treating war casualties.

“An unregistered orphanage was operating in this particular site some time ago. However, more than a year ago this was shifted to Kilinochchi and it was registered with the Social Service Department in Kilinochchi,” a senior government official in the area said.

“As this particular place includes accommodation facilities, it could have been used to have residential training programmes. But I was not informed of any programmes being conducted there,” the official said.

This disputed site is located in Vallipuram, 30km inland of Mullaitivu, along the B class Pudukkudiyiruppu-Paranthan road. It is reportedly a residential area densely covered by coconut trees.

Meanwhile, giving its views on the controversy surrounding the attack UNICEF said that it did not look like a school. “The place was being used to conduct workshops. The girls were camping out and their gear indicated that they were there only for a short duration.

“The bags didn’t look like school bags, but more like back-packs. However, there was no evidence of any uniforms or weapons,” UNICEF Country Representative, Joanna Van Gerpen said.

“We don’t know what was in the surrounding areas as we are not experts in military matters. But UNICEF officials were familiar with this compound when it was run as a childrens home, sometime ago. How or what it has been used for since then we do not know,” Ms.Van Gerpen said.

Justifying the aerial bombing of the site, Air Force spokesperson, Group Captain Ajantha Silva said they had evidence that the site was being used as a military training centre and a transit camp.

“We have monitored this site for more than two years. According to ground and air surveillance and intelligence, this site was being used as a military and a transit camp. We cannot comment on the training programme which was conducted on this site, but we are sure of our target,” he said.

Acting Military spokesperson Major Upali Rajapakse also said they had photo footages that could prove that this site was being used by the LTTE to train cadres.

“The first evidence is that 90% of the girls were clad in trousers, which is not common among Tamil girls, in remote areas. The second is that soon after the incident the LTTE claimed that only girls had been killed and not boys. However, the body of an adult male was also recovered. The third fact is that many were wearing belts around their waist which is similar to the uniform of the LTTE,” he said.

However UNICEF says they have no information or evidence that points to the fact that these children were undergoing training.

“We are only commenting on the things we have observed ourselves by talking to the parents and the survivors. We also don’t have any information about the kind of training that had been going on in this compound before,” Ms. Van Gerpen said.

She said when UNICEF had asked the Zonal Education Directors about the training, they had said they did not know who was conducting the training or what it was about.

Meanwhile the Provincial Education Director of the North East, Vishakalingam said he was unable to comment as he was unaware of any training programme.
However The Sunday Times learns that in a letter sent by Mr.Ariyaratnam to the District Secretary of Mullaitivu, Mrs.Emelda Sukumar on Agust 17, regarding the attack and the consequent casualties and injuries he had said that the children were attending a students leadership training programme.

According to this letter 42 children had died and 104 had been wounded, some of them seriously.

The letter further said that the children were from schools in Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi. Eleven students from Udayarkaddu Maha Vidyalayam had been killed and 21 of them had been injured.

Kanagaratnam Nirupa and Kanagaratnam Nirusha, both sisters from this school had died during the bombing.

Other casualties included seven killed and 11 injured from Mullaitivu MV, seven killed and 24 injured fromVisvamadu MV, four killed and 28 injured fromVidyananda College, five killedand five injured from Kumulamunai MV, four killed and fived injured from Chemmalai MV, and three killed and six injured from Pudukudiyiruppu Central College, the letter said.