Home
Discover Islam
Quran Recitations
Lectures
Fatwa
Articles
Fiqh
E-Books
Women
Boys & Girls 
Ramadan
Fatwa Audios
Month of Mercy
Women
Eed Al- Fitr
Food Recipes
Videos
At least 16 people have been killed at a makeshift hospital in Sri Lanka's northern conflict zone after the facility was shelled, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said.
The 16 victims - all believed to be patients - died in the clinic in Putumattalan on Monday, Red Cross officials said on Tuesday.
The hospital - the last functioning health facility in the war zone - had been hit by mortar fire at least six times in just over a week.
The ICRC did not say who fired the latest shells in an area where both the army and rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are active.
"We are shocked that patients are not afforded the protection they are entitled to," said Paul Castella, head of the ICRC delegation in Colombo, the capital.
"Once more, we call on both parties to meet their obligation under international humanitarian law to spare at all times the wounded and sick people, medical personnel and medical facilities," the ICRC said.
'Civilians killed'
On Tuesday, the Sri Lankan military said at least 19 civilians were killed by LTTE fighters while attempting to flee the battle zone.
Another 70 people were said to have been wounded in the alleged attack in the country's northeast.
LTTE fighters could not be reached for their version of the reported incident.
Sri Lanka's north and east has been held by the LTTE as a de facto independent territory, but their control of the area has been significantly reduced by a government offensive during recent months.
The military has now pushed the Tamil Tigers back into a small patch of jungle on the east coast.
The army says that the area under the separatists' control has been reduced to less than 100sq km by the latest military offensive.
More than 20,000 civilians have reportedly fled the war zone in the past few days, heading for government-declared "safe zones" amid continued fighting.
But the United Nations and aid agencies say 250,000 civilians are trapped in the conflict zone.
The LTTE has been battling government forces for about three decades seeking to carve out a separate homeland for ethnic Tamils.
PHOTO CAPTION
A masked demonstrator from Sri Lanka's Patriotic National Movement stands in front of the Sri Lankan national flag during a protest in Colombo.
Al-Jazeera
Prayer Times
Prayer times for Doha, Qatar 
