Eeddimurinchan massacre­ 19,20.03.1986

Eeddimurnchan village is situated in the Vavuniya district. Most people in the village are farmers.

In the 1970’s upcountry Tamils displaced from their homes due to violence by the Sinhala mobs were settled in the settlements of Dollar farm, Ken farm, Ceylon Theater and others like

it in Vavuniya. In the 1980’s the Sri Lankan military chased these upcountry Tamils from their homes in these settlements and settled Sinhala prisoners in their homes and armed them as well.

These Sinhala prisoners tormented the long term residents of the area with thefts of their livestock, farm products and homes. The prisoners also started to attack the people.

On 19.03.1986, the Sri Lankan military and the settled Sinhala prisoners came through the jungle in many military vehicles and arrived at Eeddimurinchan village at 4.30 pm. They started shooting the people and burning their homes. They also took away all valuable things from the homes.

On the next day the military and Sinhala groups rounded up the Nedunkerni village early in the morning. They started shooting everyone including old people and children. 20 people were killed in the two days of violence. Property worth hundreds of thousands of rupees was also damaged. The Sri Lankan Air Force helicopter provided cover for the military on land to carry out the massacre. The strafing by the helicopter damaged houses in Periyakulam, 3 Kms away as well. Frightened people took refuge in the jungles. Fearing the military, relatives took the bodies of their family members and buried them in the jungle.