Akkaraipattu massacre

Akkaraipattu massacre happened on 19 February 1986 when approximately 80 minority Sri Lankan Tamil farm workers were allegedly killed by the Sri Lankan Army personnel and their bodies burned in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka.

Although the alleged massacre happened on 19 February 1986, the incident came to light only few days later after community leaders visited the remote location near the town of Akkaraipattu, where the farm workers were shot. According to community leaders, the farm workers were threshing the paddy fields when troops appeared from the nearby jungle firing into the air. The women were freed, but the soldiers rounded up the men, tied their hands and made them sit on the road. The farm workers were taken back to the paddy fields and shot. Several empty cases of ammunition have been found in the field. Later the bodies were piled on top of the dry rice harvest and burned.