Personal data
Name
Loganantha Vijayaratnam
Date of birth
1969
Age
39
Place of birth
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Biographical details
Mother of five Children. Three of them – daugther: Sivakala aged 16, son: Vithushan aged 9, son: Thanu aged 7 – got killed and Son: Karthik aged 14 and daughter: Sobika aged 12 were injured in the attack.
Indcident
Date
23 May 2008
Location
Murukandy, Mullaitivu
Description
On 23 May 2008, a private van carrying nineteen members of an extended family including several children was travelling on the Murikandy-Akkarayan road in Kilinochchi when the van came under a claymore attack near Murukandy at 2.00pm. Sixteen civilians including five children were killed and the other three passengers were injured.
The attack fits the ongoing pattern of claymore attacks inside the LTTE held areas by the Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the Sri Lanka military. The terrain where the attack took place leads to some speculation about the rationale for the attack. The spot was just 2 kilometers from the A9 highway and just 10 kilometers south of the Kilinochchi town. The proximity to Kilinochchi town makes it an attractive target for the DPU. The road was also
easy access from the southern border of the LTTE area through the forested region. For this reason anyone who has an awareness of the potential claymore threats from DPU avoids using this route. Innocent people however felt safe to travel until 23 May. The attackers could have easily seen that the van was carrying mostly women and children. They were still determined to detonate the claymore to prove that they have come this far and can carry out an attack close to Kilinochchi, be it on an obviously civilian target.
The extended family in the van was returning from Mulankavil where they had visited a relative who was a patient at the Mulankavil hospital. All the five children killed in this attack are not only from one extended family but they also attended the same school in Parathipuram. The rage and grief of the family was very palpable at the funeral that was held the next day in the school that they attended.
Legal situation (investigation/criminal proceedings)
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