The airstrike took place 12 hours after the Sri Lankan government had imposed a press censorship on war-related events.

[9][10] According to University Teachers for Human Rights (UTHR), a Jaffna-based organization, the staff of Nagarkovil Government School noticed bomber activity by the Sri Lanka Air Force around the school the morning of Friday, September 22, 1995.

"Among the first stories to be subjected to these censorship requirements were reports that on September 21 and 22, heavy shelling and aerial attacks by government forces on the northern Jaffna region had killed some seventy civilians, including many school children."

Human Rights Watch also cited a Reuters report from September 23 that the army had denied the incident and that the story had been "subjected to military censors, who deleted quotes from civilians on the reported deaths of twenty children.

"[10] In a letter of October 6, 1995, the Australian government expressed a concern about "tragic incidents where non combatant Tamil civilians have been killed in military exchanges," mentioning "the reported deaths of 44 school children when a school was bombed at the village of Nagarkovil on September 22.