The incident occurred at around 11.35 a.m close to Kathiraveli, a coastal village in Vaharai peninsula of the Batticaloa district in eastern Sri Lanka.

The LTTE claimed the shelling killed 43 displaced Tamil civilians who had been taking shelter after the recent flare up of the Sri Lankan civil war.

[4] The town Kathiraveli in the Vaharai region is mainly populated by minority Sri Lankan Tamils and indigenous Vedda people.

The Sri Lankan government responded saying that the refugees housed within the school were being used as human shields by the LTTE.

[6] The LTTE political head for the Trincomalee district claimed "The government has already blocked the relief assistance to the internally displaced persons in Vaharai area.

In addition, the LTTE accused the Sri Lankan government of preventing ambulances carrying the injured to pass military checkpoints for nearly three hours.