Many dead in Sri Lanka bus blast

Catherine McDuffie April 25, 2008 12:27pm, Global Crime

At least 23 have been killed and 50 wounded in bus bombing outside of Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital city. The blast happened around rush hour, when the bus was stopping to pick up riders in the city’s southern suburb of Piliyandala. A government spokesperson was quick to blame the Tami Tigers rebel group. Violence in the country has intensified since January, which is when the government pulled out of the ceasefire with the rebel group. Government spokesman, Lakshman Hulugalle, said a parcel had exploded inside the bus after it had been left, as the bus stopped to pick up people on their way home from work. The rebels, who are fighting for an independent state for the Tamil minority, have not commented on the blast. At least 70,000 people have died so far in this civil war which has been going on since 1983.

This is so sad to me! It is so easy for situations like this to become “just another sad story,” but you have to keep in mind these are people with faces, personalities, and families! Many of the people killed in this bombing were on their way home from work, having done no harm to anyone. I can’t believe how long this war has been going on, that’s twenty five years! I don’t think that the government ending the ceasefire was in the best interest for the civilians, seeing how much worse the violence has gotten just since January. I sincerely hope that the country can come together and pull out of the path of violence incredibly soon.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7367468.stm