Nelliyadi Massacre

May 4, 2006
Nelliyadi, Jaffna
Revenge killing
7
Killed

What Happened

On 4 May 2006 at 1:00 PM during heavy rain, seven young men from Raja Kiraman village in Nelliady were traveling in two three-wheelers to attend a friend's birthday party. They were stopped and checked by Sri Lankan security forces who verified their identity and let them proceed. Moments later, they were attacked with gunfire and an RPG. All seven were killed and their bodies were severely mutilated - five bodies had to be placed in polythene bags as they couldn't be dressed. The victims, aged 17-21, included daily wage earners, bus conductors, and tube well workers. Three were married with children, and one had a pregnant wife. The attack was attributed to the Sri Lankan Army and EPDP paramilitaries.

Perpetrators

Sri Lankan Army

Documentary Evidence

Warning: These images document the aftermath of this attack and may be disturbing.

10 images from documentary reports. Click to enlarge.

Sources & References

  • NESOHR - Lest We Forget Volume II
  • NESOHR report May 2006
  • https://telibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2006-05-NelliadyMassacre.pdf

Documented Victim Demographics

Based on victims with documented names and details

Documented Victims (7 names)

# Name Age Occupation
1 Nagaratnam Naguleswaran 17 Daily wage earner
2 Subramaniam Sugas 20 Private Bus Conductor
3 Thamotharampillai Simon 18 Private Bus Conductor
4 Balachandran Kirikanthan 17 Tube well erection worker
5 Navaratnaraja Nasanna 20 Tube well erection worker
6 Selvarasa Suman 21 Worker
7 Velupillai Nirmalan 21 Daily wage earner
Children (age ≤ 12)