Adampan Massacre

October 12, 1986
Adampan, Mannar
Mass killing
20 +
Killed

What Happened

Adampan village is situated in the Manthai West Assistant Government Agent Division in Mannar district. This is a farming village. The villagers have suffered endless atrocities at the hands of the nearby Thalladi Sri Lankan military camp for more than 20 years.

On 12.10.1986 at 4:00 am, the Sri Lankan military moved out from the camp and rounded up the Adampan village. They shot and killed the sleeping villagers and burnt down several shops. The military continued the attack until 11:00am. They threw bodies into the rice fields and on the road.

More than 20 civilians lost their lives.

Survivor Suvannah Sabastianpillai: "I was sleeping at home and heard blasting noises around 4am. We woke up to see what had happened. There was a helicopter in the air. We started running and were surrounded by bomb blasts. We ran to a nearby Muslim village. We returned around 12 pm. Things were broken, people were crying. Everything was a mess. There were jeeps everywhere. The SLA joined in on this. Two of my relations were shot and left on the road. We were tortured like this in '94, '95 and '96."

Perpetrators

Sri Lankan Army

Sources & References

  • NESOHR - Lest We Forget Volume I

Documented Victim Demographics

Based on victims with documented names and details

Documented Victims (12 names)

# Name Age Occupation
1 Thangavel Raman Seller
2 Vasthian Sagayanathan Kurus Seller
3 Julian Jeyaseelan 22 Farmer
4 Mamundi Selvaras 14 Student
5 Antony Kaspar 63 Carpenter
6 Antonipillai Mesiyas 28 Farmer
7 Iyampillai Nagamuthu 84 -
8 Kristhogu Jovan 65 Farmer
9 Arokkiam Santhal 30 Farmer
10 Rosais Pulendran 32 Farmer
11 Sabapathipillai Thangamma 70 -
12 Veerasingham Manoranjitham 24 Student
Children (age ≤ 12)