Anuradhapura massacre

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Background

Origins of the Civil War

• Origins of the Civil War
• Black July • Human Rights Issues • Riots and pogroms
• Attributed State terrorism
• Prison massacres
• Tamil militant groups

LTTE

• LTTE • Attributed Terrorist attacks • Child Soldiers
• Attributed assasinations
• Notable Attacks • Expulsion of Muslims from Jaffna

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

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The Anuradhapura massacre was carried out by the LTTE, an organization which has been banned in 29 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.

1 Incident
2 Related incidents
3 See also
4 References and further reading

[edit] Incident

The Anuradhapura massacre is an incident on May 14, 1985 in which LTTE cadres in 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.

[edit] 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

[edit] See also

Terrorist attacks attributed to the LTTE

[edit] 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