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Vaddakkandal massacre
Part of the Sri Lankan Civil War
Location of Sri Lanka
Location	Vaddakkandal, Mannar district, Northern Province, Sri Lanka
Coordinates	8°54′17″N 80°02′04″E / 8.90472°N 80.03444°E / 8.90472; 80.03444
Date	January 30, 1985 (+8 GMT)
Target	Sri Lankan Tamil Civilians
Deaths	52
Injured	40+
Perpetrators	Sri Lankan military

Vaddakkandal massacre was a massacre of Tamil civilians in the Tamil village of Vaddakkandal in Mannar district of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. At least 52 residents of the village who were mostly agricultural laborers working in their fields were brutally attacked and killed by the Sri Lankan military forces. More than 40 people were left seriously injured by the attack. Several of those killed included women, elderly, and even infants. There had been no investigations into the massacre and no member of the Sri Lankan Army has been brought to justice for the killings yet.

Civilian massacre

Vaddakandal is a village situated near Adampan and Uyilankulam, situated in the Mannar district. On 30 January 1985, at the break of dawn, 200 military personnel stationed in the nearby Thalladi military camp moved into Vaddakandal along the Kadukkarai Lake.

Around 6.30 am they entered the homes of the villagers and began shooting and stabbing everyone. One of the Sri Lankan Air Force helicopters also strafed the village. The military proceeded to the village's Tamil Mixed School and attacked the principal, teachers and the students. At least Eighteen people were killed in the school itself.

Another group of personnel started attacking people working on the fields and those who were trying to escape were captured and shot dead. The attack continued for another six hours. At 2.00 pm, the military loaded the bodies onto its vehicles and transported them away to the Thalladi camp. Villagers attest that 52 people were killed and at least 40 more sustained grievous injuries.

See also

• List of attacks on civilians attributed to Sri Lankan government forces

References

1. "Issuu - Tamileelam/docs". Retrieved 13 January 2014.
2. "Tamils Forum UK : The Unspeakable Truth". Retrieved 13 January 2014.
3. ^ Massacres of Tamils(1956-2008). Chennai: Manitham Publications. 2009. p. 15. ISBN 978-81-909737-0-0.
4. ^ "Vaddakkandal massacre remembered on 32nd anniversary". Tamil Guardian. 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.

v t e Sri Lankan civil war (1983–2009)
Origins	Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism Sinhala Only Act 1956 1958 Vaddukoddai Resolution 1977 1981 Burning of Jaffna Library Black July
Combatants	Sri Lanka Army (LRRP) Navy Air Force Police Special Task Force Home Guards Attacks on civilians Assassinations LTTE Divisions Air Tigers Sea Tigers Black Tigers Attacks in the 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Assassinations Suicide bombings Other militants (list) ENDLF ENLF EPRLF EROS PLOTE TELO  India Indian Peace Keeping Force Paramilitary groups EPDP TMVP
Phases	Eelam War I Indian intervention Eelam War II III IV Eastern / Northern theatres
Major battles	Kokkilai Vadamarachchi Poomalai Pawan Jaffna University Helidrop Balavegaya 1st Elephant Pass Pooneryn Riviresa 1st Mullaitivu Weli Oya Sath Jaya Vavunathivu Jayasikurui Thandikulam–Omanthai 1st Kilinochchi Oddusuddan A-9 highway 2nd Elephant Pass Bandaranaike Airport attack Point Pedro Jaffna Thoppigala Vidattaltivu 2nd Kilinochchi 2nd Mullaitivu Puthukkudiyirippu
Major events	Air Lanka Flight 512 Indo-Sri Lanka Accord Expulsions from Northern province Assassination of Lalith Athulathmudali Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi Assassination of Ranasinghe Premadasa Temple of the Tooth attack Lionair Flight 602 Bandaranaike Airport attack Expulsions from Colombo 2009 suicide air raid on Colombo
Leaders	Sri Lanka Military Army Tissa Weeratunga Nalin Seneviratne Hamilton Wanasinghe Cecil Waidyaratne G. H. De Silva Rohan Daluwatte Srilal Weerasooriya L. P. Balagalle Shantha Kottegoda Sarath Fonseka Navy Asoka de Silva H. A. Silva Clancy Fernando D. A. M. R. Samarasekara H. C. A. C. Thisera Daya Sandagiri Wasantha Karannagoda Air Force Dick Perera Andibuduge Fernando Makalandage Gunawardena Oliver Ranasinghe Jayalath Weerakkody Donald Perera Roshan Goonetileke Civilian J. R. Jayewardene Ranasinghe Premadasa Dingiri Banda Wijetunga Chandrika Kumaratunga Mahinda Rajapaksa LTTE Militant Velupillai Prabhakaran Pottu Amman Soosai Karuna Amman Political Selvarasa Pathmanathan Anton Balasingham S. P. Thamilselvan India Military Harkirat Singh Ashok K. Mehta Kulwant Singh Depinder Singh Dalvir Singh Krishnaswamy Sundarji Civilian R. Venkataraman Rajiv Gandhi V. P. Singh Jyotindra Nath Dixit J. Jayalalithaa M. Karunanidhi Vaiko
Aftermath	Genocide Films NPC resolution LLRC Reactions (Protests) Remembrance Day UN Panel on Accountability War crimes Chemical weapons
Related topics	Casualties Assassinations Massacres Child soldiers Disappearances Office on Missing Persons Human rights Popular culture Terrorism Non-state State PTA Sexual violence Sixth Amendment Thirteenth Amendment 1988 Maldives coup attempt 1987–1989 JVP insurrection
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• 1985 crimes in Sri Lanka
• Attacks on civilians attributed to the Sri Lanka Air Force
• Attacks on civilians attributed to the Sri Lanka Army
• 1980s massacres of the Sri Lankan civil war
• Massacres in 1985
• Mass murder of Sri Lankan Tamils
• Sri Lankan government forces attacks in the Sri Lankan civil war
• Terrorist incidents in Sri Lanka in 1985