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Initially it claimed that it was a school, then a training centre for Nurses and the latest, an orphanage, with girls from the surrounding schools attending a two day first aid course there. UNICEF has said that there was no evidence to support the Government claim to the site being an LTTE training camp and that, children were the “innocent victims” of the blast. Defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told a media briefing yesterday, “Once they are trained in arms one cannot consider them as normal children. At a time like this we cannot look at their age but instead at what they were aiming to do.” He also referred to a UNICEF statement to the effect that the LTTE had conscripted 1347 children and that they were being trained to fight. Brigadier Jayawardene pointed out that the camp was situated in the thick jungle where there is no human habitation, “The camp is built under a jungle canopy and heavily fortified with a parapet wall around the parameter, with military facilities including a firing range and armoury.” Meanwhile today the Government strongly condemned the LTTE’s attempt to blame the Sri Lankan military for the deaths of the child soldiers amongst the other female LTTE cadres. “Since, the LTTE terrorists are engaged in a full scale war against the security forces; it as been imperative for the government to weaken the terrorists' strongholds in the larger interest of the national security. Sri Lanka air force fighter jets have been engaged in bombing the strongholds since the LTTE unleashed its brutality against the peace loving citizens in the country. The targets are pre identified and the locations are well confirmed via very reliable intelligence sources.”
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