Pottuvil massacre

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Sri Lankan Conflict

Background
Sri LankaHistory of Sri Lanka
Origins of the Civil War
Origins of the Civil War
Black JulyRiots and pogroms
Human rightsAllegations of state terror
Tamil militant groups
LTTE
LTTEAttacksExpulsion of Muslims from Jaffna
Current major figures
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Velupillai Prabhakaran
Karuna Amman
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Sarath Fonseka
Indian Involvement
Operation Poomalai
Indo-Sri Lanka Accord
Indian Peace Keeping Force
Rajiv GandhiRAW
See also
Military of Sri Lanka
TMVPEPDP
Notable assassinationsChild soldiers
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Pottuvil massacre is disputed event in the ongoing Sri Lankan civil war. It happened on Monday, 18 September 2006, when 10 unarmed minority Muslim civilians who were engaged in the clearing of a reservoir at Rattal Kulam in Pottuvil in the southern part of the Ampara District in the Eastern Province. All the men were aged between 19-35 three of the men were decapitated and the others shot or hacked to death by the LTTE.[1]

Initially a BBC report stated that some members of the community accused the Special Task Force of involvement in this incident.[2] The local Muslim population staged protests demanding the removal of the STF(Special Task Force) Officer and they questioned how the LTTE could infiltrate into an area carrying swords kill 10 people and then leave without the STF spotting them and no encounter between the LTTE and the STF took place.[3] Rauff Hakeem, the leader of the SLMC, initially wanted an international commission to probe the incident.[4]

However the sole survivor of the attack, Kareem Meera Mohideen, recuperating from grave injuries, identified the rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as the attackers. The South Asian Terrorist portal claimed that the LTTE tried its best, to wash its hands off the incident by blaming it on the STF.[5]

Amid these accusations the government has acted irregularly. The ambulance transporting the only survivor was prevented by police from going to the hospital at a predominant muslim town called Kalumunai. The ambulance was redirected to a hospital at a sinhalese dominated Amparai. At the hospital the survivor was held incommunicado by armed guards. Further the SLMM was prevented from talking to the survivor. Eyewitness also reported that the police destroyed crime scene evidence.[6]

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