This set of images show the impact of attacks by the Sri Lankan military on civilian settlements. The majority of the images display the attacks on the so-called “Safe Zones” or “No Fire Zones”, in which the retreating Tamil population were herded together by the advancing Sri Lankan Army. This areas were declared by the government that ridiculed the desperate attemps by the Tamil population to safe their lives by giving this areas their cynical label.

This set of images documents only the attacks by the Sri Lankan Forces from January to May 2009.

This set of images depicts the life of the Tamil refugee population inside the war zone. Besides the terror of the attacking military machinery the life was characterized by flight, starvation, being unsheltered and exposed to the harsh weather conditions, being whithout proper medical and psycological care.

The following images depict the deteriorating medical situation in the LTTE controlled territory due to the embargo on medical supplies imposed by the Sri Lankan state as a weapon of war.

The following images depict some effects of the restrictions the Sri Lankan government had enforced on the food supplies to the population of the LTTE territory. The Sri Lankan Government deliberately downplayed the size of the population in the LTTE administered areas with the goal of starving out the people.

The Sri Lankan State has continuously attacked the civil population in the Vanni region. If it was with heavy weapons, mortars or small arms fire, any attack constitutes a war crime. The following pictures verify the use of cluster ammunition against civil areas.