July 11, Colombo: The global human rights watch dog Amnesty International (AI) today condemned the suspected Tamil Tiger attack on civilian bus passengers in Southern Sri Lanka.

"These indiscriminate attacks are brutal. The victims are overwhelmingly people who are trying to go about their everyday lives, living in fear of attacks at any time, with the added untold suffering this brings to their relatives. The total disregard for the safety of civilians is completely indefensible," said Amnesty International in a statement.

AI calling upon all parties to the conflict- the LTTE, the government security forces and other armed groups to abide by international law said all combatants in Sri Lanka are bound by the provisions of Article 3 Common to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, which applies to non-international armed conflicts.

"It is time that all parties put human rights at the heart of their policies and end the terrible uncertainty for civilians in conflict-affected areas, and for those who are targeted in reprisal attacks in the south," said Amnesty International.

Suspected Tiger gunmen opened fire on a civilian bus killing 4 people including a child and injuring another 26 as the bus was traveling along the Buttala- Katargama main road this morning.