Incident Summary:
05/23/1986: Armed Tamil guerrillas killed 12 Sinhalese civilians, "including a child who was pulled from his mother's arms and hacked to death, in nearby villages in the eastern Trincomalee district." Army officials believed the perpetrators to be part of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). This incident, along with a similar incident two days later, where 20 Sinhalese civilians were murdered by Tamils (198605250013), occurred on the two holiest days of the Buddhist year, the Vesak festival which celebrates peace, brotherhood and the life of Buddha. The Tamils were fighting for an independent Eelam state, and as such, attempted to drive the Sinhalese out of the disputed Eastern Province.
Overview
GTD ID:
198605230012
When:
1986-05-23
Country:
Sri Lanka
Region:
South Asia
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Eastern
City:
Near Trincomalee
Location Details:
nearby villages in the eastern Trincomalee district
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Unknown |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Sinhalese civilians |
| Specific Description |
Sinhalese villagers |
| Nationality of Target |
Sri Lanka |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
No |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
No |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Unknown |
|
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | No |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
| Additional Information |
"In the eastern region where the massacres occurred, Tamils make up a third of the population. They accused the government of resettling Sinhalese there to dilute the Tamil population and weaken them politically." The Tamils were fighting for an independent Eelam state. |
Who
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
12 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
12 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
| Total Number of Injured |
0 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
| Victoria Graham, "Tamils Kill 20 Villagers In Massacre," Associated Press, May 25, 1986. |
| Humphrey Hawksley, "Tamil militants murder 20 Singhalese villagers /Fighting in Sri Lanka," The Guardian (London), May 26, 1986. |
| "20 Reported Slain in Sri Lanka Raid," New York Times, May 26, 1986. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties
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