The Mullivaikkal massacre was the mass killing of tens of thousands of

Sri Lankan Tamils Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province, form the pluralit ...

in 2009 during the closing stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War, which ended in May 2009 in a tiny strip of land in

Mullivaikkal Mullivaikkal (Mu’l’livaaykkaal, Muḷḷivāykkāl) is a village located in Mullaitivu District, Vanni (Sri Lanka), Vanni, Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The Mullivaikkal massacre, Mullivaikkal Massacre took place he ...

Mullaitivu Mullaitivu (; ) is the main town of Mullaitivu District, situated on the north-eastern coast of Northern Province, Sri Lanka. A largely fishing settlement, the town in the early twentieth century grew as an anchoring harbour of the small sailing ...

. The Sri Lankan government had designated a no-fire zone in Mullivaikkal towards the end of the war. According to the UN, between 40,000 and 70,000 entrapped Tamil civilians were killed by the actions of government forces and

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eela ...

(LTTE), with the large majority of these civilian deaths being the result of indiscriminate shelling by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. During the battle, government forces heavily shelled the area, including hospitals, the UN hub, and near the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

ship, while the LTTE held hostage much of the civilian population for cover, and enforced this by shooting escaping Tamil civilians. During the final days of the war, the army also engaged in indiscriminate executions of Tamils, civilians as well as fighters. Indiscriminate massacres of civilians were carried out on 18 May 2009. The UN Panel Report describes how "from as early as 6 February 2009, the SLA continuously shelled within the area that became the second NFZ, from all directions, including land, air and sea. It is estimated that there were between 300,000 and 330,000 civilians in that small area. The SLA assault employed aerial bombardment, long-range artillery, howitzers and MBRLs as well as small mortars, RPGs and small arms fire, some of it fired from a close range. MBRLs when using unguided rockets are area saturation weapons and when used in densely populated areas, are indiscriminate with potential to cause large numbers of casualties. The UN Panel Report describes the actions of the LTTE, "In spite of the futility of their military situation, the LTTE not only refused to surrender, but also continued to prevent civilians from leaving the area, ensuring their continued presence as a human buffer. It forced civilians to help build military installations and fortifications or undertake other forced labour. It also intensified its practice of forced recruitment, including of children, to swell their dwindling ranks. As LTTE recruitment increased, parents actively resisted, and families took increasingly desperate measures to protect their children from recruitment. They hid their children in secret locations or forced them into early arranged marriages. LTTE cadre would beat relatives or parents, sometimes severely, if they tried to resist the recruitment. All these approaches, many of them aimed at defending the LTTE and its leadership, portrayed callousness to the desperate plight of civilians and a willingness to sacrifice their lives."

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*{{cite web, url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/131025.pdf, title=Report to Congress on Incidents During the Recent Conflict in Sri Lanka, date=22 October 2009, publisher=

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...

Remember Mullivaikkal
2000s massacres of the Sri Lankan civil war Attacks on hospitals during the Sri Lankan civil war 2009 murders in Sri Lanka Massacres in 2009 Mass murder of Sri Lankan Tamils History of Mullaitivu District 2008–2009 Sri Lankan Army Northern offensive Attacks on civilians attributed to the Sri Lanka Air Force Attacks on civilians attributed to the Sri Lanka Army Attacks on civilians attributed to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Human shield incidents 2009 airstrikes 2009 building bombings Building bombings in Sri Lanka May 2009 in Sri Lanka

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