Excavation work on the mass grave at Chemmani in Sri Lanka's northern province has been halted pending fresh allocation of funds by the Justice Ministry, lawyers close to the operation said on Sunday.
Earlier this year, skeletal remains were discovered at Chemmani during a routine development, and excavations began under judicial supervision.
After 45 days of excavation work, the second stage of the work was halted at noon on Saturday, the lawyers said. So far, 240 skeletal remains have been excavated.
The funds for the remainder of the work are expected to be made available within the next two weeks, the lawyers said.
They said apart from the skeletons, 14 piles of bones and paraphernalia such as feeding bottles for infants, a doll, toys and children’s bags and shoes have been found.
