Kokkadichcholai Massacre 1991

June 12, 1991
Kokkadichcholai, Batticaloa
Mass killing
220 +
Killed

What Happened

On 12th June 1991, Sri Lankan Army soldiers entered Kokkadichcholai village in Batticaloa and massacred over 152 Tamil civilians. The victims included women, children, and elderly people who were shot at close range or hacked to death.

The massacre was one of the most brutal single-day killings of the civil war. Survivors reported that soldiers systematically went house to house killing everyone they found. Many victims were burned beyond recognition.

This massacre followed a pattern of reprisal killings where entire villages were targeted following LTTE attacks on military convoys.

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 (8 names)

# Name Age Occupation
1 Motchamala Kanapathipillai Teacher
2 Identified victim 2 -
3 Identified victim 3 -
4 Identified victim 4 -
5 Identified victim 5 -
6 Missing victim 1 -
7 Missing victim 2 -
8 Missing victim 3 -
Children (age ≤ 12)