On Friday December 23rd, a Sri Lankan Navy vehicle was hit by a claymore mine in the “Hundred House Scheme” area in Pesalai. As has been the long practice of the Sri Lankan Armed forces the Navy began their retaliation against the civilians living in the housing scheme. The first step of this retaliation was to indiscriminately spray bullets into the housing scheme. Panicky occupants began fleeing in all directions. The teenage children of one old couple, the Cruz couple, were not at home. They had gone to a friend’s house to watch television. As a result the parents worried about their children did not flee like the rest of the residents of the housing scheme. Another family of four, the Fernando family was fleeing like the rest. However, the mother, being an asthmatic patient could not continue running with their three year old boy in her hand. She saw the Cruz couple standing at the door of their home and told her husband to keep running with their five year old child and she ran into the Cruz home with her younger child. Fernando and the five year old ran on and stopped about five houses further down and stayed there. Navy men arrived at the Cruz house and burnt the four people alive and removed their bodies. A burnt arm of the three year and some items from his mother’s handbag were later found among the ashes.
Available names of victims (name, age)
1. Antoniamma Cruz, 38
2. Dilexan, Child, 4
3. Emmanuel Cruz, 38
4. Therese (alias Suganthy), 40
