Anuradhapura massacre

The Anuradhapura massacre occurred in Sri Lanka in 1985 and was carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. This was the largest massacre of Sinhalese civilians by the LTTE to date; it was also the first major operation carried out by the LTTE outside a Tamil majority area.

Incident

The Anuradhapura massacre is an incident on May 14, 1984 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. [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,957036,00.html] ] 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. [ [http://www.hindu.com/2006/06/17/stories/2006061703841000.htm] ] 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. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,957036,00.html]

Before they withdrew, 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

Notes

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
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,957036,00.html Sri Lanka Tamil Terror] "Time" May 27, 1985

See also

* List of attacks attributed to the LTTE