Following shelling by Sri Lanka military from the start of August 2007, people from the Manthai West AGA Division started to displace and the IDPs had taken refuge in camps in the village of Periyamadu.
On 25 October 2007, Sri Lanka military from the Thallady camp started shelling the Periyamadu village. Three civilians from one family were killed. Among them was a full term pregnant woman. Nine people were injured. One of the injured women, Jepalasingam Thiraviyam, said from her hospital bed, “After my first husband died of illness, I married Jeyabalasingam. We had five children. We displaced together with our relatives to Periyamadu just a month ago because our own village, Vannankulam, was coming under Sri Lankan Navy shelling. Now my husband and two of my daughters were killed by this shelling”.
Parish priest of Periyamadu, Sebamalai said, “I was in Madhu at the time of the shelling. I went to the location of shelling as soon as I heard about it. I could see human body parts all over the place. All the people affected in this incident were recently displaced from Mullaithivu.”
