Anuradhapura massacre
| Background |
| Sri Lanka • History of Sri Lanka |
| Origins of the Civil War |
| Origins of the Civil War Black July • Riots and pogroms Human rights • Allegations of state terror Tamil militant groups |
| LTTE |
| LTTE • Military attacks • Terrorist attacks • Attributed assassinations • Child soldiers Expulsion of Muslims from Jaffna |
| Current major figures |
| Mahinda Rajapakse Velupillai Prabhakaran Karuna Amman Sarath Fonseka |
| Indian Involvement |
| Operation Poomalai Indo-Sri Lanka Accord Indian Peace Keeping Force Rajiv Gandhi • RAW |
| See also |
| Military of Sri Lanka TMVP • EPDP Notable assassinations |
The Anuradhapura massacre occurred in Sri Lanka in 1985 and was carried out by the LTTE, an organization which has been banned in 33 countries including the US, Australia, EU, India and Canada due to its terrorist activities. This was the largest massacre of Sinhalese civilians by the LTTE to date. Also this is the first major operation carried out by the LTTE outside a Tamil majority area.
Incident
The Anuradhapura massacre is an incident on May 14 , 1985 in which LTTE cadres massacred 146 Sinhalese men, women and children in Anuradhapura. The LTTE hijacked a bus and entered Anuradhapura. As the LTTE cadres entered the main bus station , they opened fire indiscriminately with automatic weapons killing and wounding many civilians who were waiting for buses[1]. LTTE cadres then drove to the Buddhist Sri Maha Bobhi shrine and gunned down nuns, monks and civilians as they prayed inside the Buddhist shrine[2]. This incident was designed to provoke massive retaliation by the Sinhalese majority against the Tamils in order to strengthen the LTTE's position among the Tamil people[3].
Before they withdraw, the LTTE strike force entered the national park of Wilpattu and killed 18 Sinhalese in the forest reserve.
Related incidents
Some of the related LTTE attacks on civilians between 1984 and 2006 include the
- Kebithigollewa massacre - 68 Sinhalese civilians died
- Gonagala massacre - 54 Sinhalese civilians died
- October 1995 Eastern Sri Lanka Massacres - 120 Sinhalese civilians died
- Kallarawa massacre - 42 Sinhalese civilians died
- Dehiwala train bombing - 56 Sinhalese civilians died
- Palliyagodella massacre - 166 Muslim Civilians died
- Central Bank Bombing - 102 civilians died
- Kent and Dollar Farm massacres - 52 Sinhalese civilians died
See also
References and further reading
- Gunaratna, Rohan. (1998). Sri Lanka's Ethnic Crisis and National Security, Colombo: South Asian Network on Conflict Research. ISBN 955-8093-00-9
- Gunaratna, Rohan. (October 1, 1987). War and Peace in Sri Lanka: With a Post-Accord Report From Jaffna, Sri Lanka: Institute of Fundamental Studies. ISBN 955-8093-00-9
- Gunasekara, S.L. (November 04, 2003). The Wages of Sin, ISBN 955-8552-01-1
- Editor. From Anuradhapura to Anuradhapura The Hindu, June 17, [2006
- Sri Lanka Tamil Terror Time May 27, 1985
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