The victims of the St James' Church bombings who were killed by Sri Lankan government airstrikes were remembered on Monday.
A memorial service was held at the church in Gurunagar, Jaffna, to mark 30 years since the massacre. Candles were lit by relatives of the victims and church members.
On November 13, 1993, Sri Lankan government airstrike to the Church. It is estimated that at least nine Tamils who had gathered for worship were killed in the attack. The ancient church was also destroyed in the repeated airstrikes.
Leading up to and during the 1990s, Sri Lankan air force jets bombed several Tamil protected areas, including schools and places of worship, killing over hundreds of Tamil civilians. The notorious Navaly Church bombings which killed over 120 people in 1995, the 1997 Vavunikulam Church bombings and the 1995 Nagarkovil Tamil school bombings are among the many attacks committed by the Sri Lankan military.
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