Doubts over bodies identities

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 June 1999, 14:05 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) handed over 36 bodies to the Mannar base hospital this afternoon around 3.30 p.m. amidst speculation that at least some of these may belong to civilians. The SLA said the bodies were those of Liberation Tigers killed in the fighting near the Pallamadu junction two days ago.

The SLA brought the bodies to the hospital after waiting for the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society which was expected to come over from Vidaththalthivu by boat to transport the bodies for handing over to the Liberation Tigers.

The bodies were brought in an SLA truck to the Pallimunai beach near Mannar town this morning around 9 a.m.

TamilNet's Mannar correspondent who visited the location this morning said that most of the bodies were decomposing and that 28 of these were those of females and 8 were of males, mostly youth.

He said that the bodies of 10 girls had been stripped naked.

Meanwhile, Mannar base hospital sources observed that the bodies had neither the metal tags with the LTTE's serial numbers nor cyanide capsules.