The massacre of 53 school girls by the Sri Lankan air force was commemorated today across the Tamil homeland on the 16th anniversary of the attack.

On August 14 2006, four Sri Lankan air force jets flew over the Vanni and dropped sixteen bombs over the Sencholai children's home for orphans, killing 53 school girls and 3 teachers. 

Today marks the 16th anniversary of the massacre of 53 school girls by the Sri Lankan Air Force. 

Tamil families of the disappeared rallied in Kilinochchi and Vavuniya yesterday to mark 2,000 days of continuous roadside protest as the search for their forcibly disappeared loved ones continues. 

It's a terrible sign when the interval card rolls up and you let out a sign of exasperation, realising there’s another hour and fifteen minutes to sit through. The film opens with the usual cocktail for Tamil commercial ventures: the hero enters to an action block (in this instance, a wrestling match) followed by a song where his strength, bravura and good nature are praised, and soon after we are introduced to the romantic interest.

The EU delegation in Sri Lanka has met with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe who they claim to have had a “constructive meeting” on human rights and freedom of expression.

As Tamil families gather across the North-East to demand an account for their loved ones who were forcibly disappeared by the Sri Lankan military, US Ambassador, Julie Chung, met with Sri Lankan Minister for Tourism, Harin Fernando.

In a tweet the ambassador stated:

Tamil families of the disappeared marked 2,000 days of continuous roadside protest in Vavuniya today as their struggle to know the the fate of their forcibly disappeared loved ones goes on. 

The families have been appealing to the international community for accountability as they have no faith that domestic mechanisms will provide justice or accountability. 

Tamil families of the disappeared are rallying through Kilinochchi today as they mark 2,000 days of continuous protests in the search of their forcibly disappeared loved ones. 

After being denied asylum by several Middle Eastern countries, Sri Lanka's war crimes accused former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been welcomed by Thailand on "humanitarian grounds".

In Vavuniya, Tamil Families of the Disappeared are continuing their protests on the roadside to demand to know what happened to their loved ones.