Kumarapuram massacre
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Kumarapuram massacre was one of the largest incident of deliberate and arbitrary killings of minority Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan security forces since the resumption of the armed conflict in April 1995
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Civilian Massacres |
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[edit] Trincomalee district
It took place at Kumarapuram, Trincomalee district, on 11 February 1996. According to several survivors interviewed by Amnesty International, 24 civilians, including 13 women and seven children below the age of 12, were killed by soldiers from the 58th Mile Post and Dehiwatte army camps, accompanied by Home Guards from Dehiwatte. Home guards are Sinhalese civilains drafted as para-militaries by the government of Sri Lanka.
[edit] Reprisal by the Army
The killings were in apparent reprisal for the killings by the LTTE of two soldiers near the 58th Mile Post about half an hour earlier. According to one witness, a group of soldiers, some of whom were drunk, gathered at Dehiwatte junction and then proceeded towards Kumarapuram, shouting death to the Tamils.
The villagers of Kumarapuram had taken refuge inside their houses. The soldiers broke open the shutters and aimed their guns at the people hiding inside. One woman recounted how she pleaded with them not to shoot but to no avail. In her house, seven people were killed, including a six-year-old child.
[edit] Rape and murder
Among the victims was 17-year-old Arumaithurai Tharmaletchumi. She was dragged from a boutique in the village and taken to the milk collection centre where she was raped before being shot. Antony Joseph, a 14-year-old boy, who tried to stop the soldiers from dragging her away, was shot between his legs.
[edit] Photos
[edit] Government investigation and results
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