Kattankudy mosque massacre explained

Kattankudy Mosque Massacre
Partof:the Sri Lankan Civil War
Location:Kattankudy, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
Target:Sri Lankan Moors
Date:3 August 1990
Time:7:30pm
Timezone:+6 GMT
Type:Armed massacre
Fatalities:147
Perpetrators:Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Weapons:Automatics rifles, hand grenades

The Kattankudy Mosque Massacre was the killing of over 147 Muslim men and boys on 3 August, 1990.[1] Around 30 armed Tamil militants raided two mosques in Kattankudy (Meer Jummah Mosque, Kattankudy-01 & Hussainiyya Mosque, Manchanthoduwai) where over 300 people were prostrating in Isha prayers. The Sri Lankan government, survivors, and observers accuse the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of committing the crime.[1] [2] [3] The LTTE denied involvement and never retracted the denial.[4]

Background

Peace talks which began in 1989 broke down ending a 13-month ceasefire. According to NESOHR, on June 10 1990, Muslim groups with the help of the security forces massacred 37 Tamil civilians in Sammanthurai.[5] On 11 June the LTTE attacked numerous government targets and massacred over 600 Sri Lankan Police officers. In response, hundreds of Tamil civilians were massacred in the east by security forces with the help of Muslim home guards.[6] [7] [8]

On June 26, 1990 LTTE militants looted 93 shops in Kattankudy, burning 3 of them.[9] In mid-July, the LTTE massacred dozens of Muslims.August 2024.

On 24 July 1990 armed persons murdered four Muslims at a mosque in the Batticaloa District. On 29 July 1990 armed persons killed 10 worshippers in Sammanthurai, 25 miles east of the town of Batticaloa. Sri Lankan military officials claimed it was done by the LTTE. They also claimed the LTTE attacked Muslim villages, and burning their shops and homes, on the basis of suspecting them of supporting the government.

Incident

On 3 August around 30 heavily armed Tamil rebels crossed a lagoon and entered the town of Kattankudy. An LTTE tax collector, Ranjith Appah, had visited the house of Jinnah Hadjiaar, where LTTE gunmen shot his son-in-law dead. At around 8:10pm, the rebels entered the Meer Jumma Masjid, Hussainiya, Masjid-Jul-Noor and Fowzie Mosques, where hundreds of devotees were attending Friday Isha prayers. The persons were disguised as Muslims to avoid suspicion.[1] [10] [11]

As the civilians knelt in prayer when the Tamil rebels attacked them, spraying automatic fire and hurling hand grenades at the worshippers. Most of the victims were shot in the back or side.[1] The rebels fled as Sri Lankan soldiers, notified of the ongoing massacre, arrived at the scene. The army had delayed in reaching the town, citing the possibility of landmines as the reason. This led to some Kattankudy residents suspecting the army was somehow involved in the massacre.[12]

Initial report put the death toll at around 100, but as many of the injured who were rushed to hospital succumbed to their injuries, the final death toll rose to over 147.[1]

Eyewitness accounts

Harrowing eyewitness accounts appeared in the international press over the next few days. Speaking to the New York Times, Mohammed Ibrahim, a 40-year-old businessman said:

Mohammed Arif, a 17-year-old student who also survived the massacre told the New York Times:

Aftermath

Then Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa directed Sri Lanka Air Force helicopters to rush the injured to hospitals for urgent treatment. They continued to ferry the injured to hospitals throughout the next morning.[1] Soon after the massacre, government troops launched an operation in the area to capture the killers. One of the helicopters involved in the search shot at two boat loads of LTTE rebels off the sea at Kattankudy. They were believed to be fleeing to India following the massacre. Casualties amongst the rebels were not confirmed.[1]

The incident was the worst massacre of civilians since the resumption the conflict on 11 June.[1] All the victims were buried in a cemetery at the Meera Jumma Mosque, where mourners dug a long common grave for a row of coffins.

The LTTE denied responsibility and alleged that it was done by the government to get arms from the Islamic countries.[13] However, in a 2015 interview, Karuna Amman, the former LTTE commander of the Eastern Province who defected in 2004, claimed that the attack wasn't sanctioned by the LTTE leadership and that the culprits were punished by Prabhakaran.[14] The government's intelligence reports revealed that the LTTE leadership hadn't been apprised beforehand about the attack. The UTHR(J) reported that the attack was the result of localized anger against Muslims over the violence against Tamils in the Eastern Province.[15]

Sri Lanka's largest Tamil party the Tamil National Alliance condemned the killings as "totally unacceptable". TNA leader R. Sampanthan told the BBC Tamil service:[16]

From this point onwards LTTE committed number of atrocities against Muslim community including the total expulsion of Muslims from northern province.[17]

List of people killed on that day

  1. A R Atham Bawa (43)
  2. H M Meera Lebbe (43)
  3. K L M Mohamed Raffi (17)
  4. A Pakeer Mohideen (65)
  5. M S Abdul Hameed (25)
  6. M A Faisal (13)
  7. M I Jaufar (17)
  8. M I Jaroon (10)
  9. V M Ismail (37)
  10. M M M Jaufar (17)
  11. M K M Sahabdeen (41)
  12. M S M Shukoor
  13. M S M Jawad (13)
  14. M Iqbal (16)
  15. M I Atham Lebbe (52)
  16. M L Mohamed Muthu (70)
  17. M S A Zuhaib Moulavi (20)
  18. I Raffeek (18)
  19. M M Sahibdeen Hajiyar (60)
  20. M A Thambi Lebbe (45)
  21. M M Ashrafkhan (20)
  22. M B Jawad (13)
  23. A M Yasseen (26)
  24. M I M Ajmal (12)
  25. A L Salahudeen (Hafil) (20)
  26. M I Kamaldeen (30)
  27. A L Mackeen (12)
  28. M S M Sahabdeen Hajiyar (55)
  29. M Umar Lebbe (38)
  30. S A Majeed (37)
  31. S H M Musthaffa (72)
  32. Mohamed Anas (13)
  33. M I Abdul Gaffoor (28)
  34. S Zulfikar (17)
  35. Abdul Nawas (21)
  36. N M Ismail (45)
  37. M C M Rizvan (10)
  38. M S Abdul Muthaliff (47)
  39. A Ramlan (30)
  40. M Issadeen (15)
  41. M B A Samad (38)
  42. M K M Ariff (18)
  43. M I Hassan (22)
  44. M I Ashraff (11)
  45. M Kamardeen (12)
  46. S M Hayathu Kalanthar (60)
  47. S A M Imthiaz (9)
  48. S A M Iyansaad (18)
  49. M C M Fareed (35)
  50. M I A Azeez (37)
  51. A M Haniffa (38)
  52. M I Hussain (20)
  53. M L M Thahir (27)
  54. S L M Junaid (23)
  55. M P M Junaid (34)
  56. M M Haniffa Hajiyar (46)
  57. S H M Nazeer (32)
  58. M S A Raheem (26)
  59. Dr R Mohamed Anver (55)
  60. A C M Nasurudeen (40)
  61. M I Ariff (12)
  62. A K Haroon (31)
  63. H M Fowser (14)
  64. M M Ismail (40)
  65. U L Mohideen (17)
  66. A A Noordeen (30)
  67. M T Jauffer (17)
  68. M S M Fowser (12)
  69. A Jauffer (14)
  70. K L M Rahumathulla (42)
  71. P M Mohamed Fazloon (15)
  72. A M Mohamed Mustaffa (70)
  73. S A S Sheriffdeen (Teacher) (52)
  74. S S Seyed Mohamed (Ajmal) (10)
  75. M A C M Buhary (Teacher) (35)
  76. A Sameem (14)
  77. P M Abdul Cader (45)
  78. K M A Azeez (Teacher) (42)
  79. M M Mohamed Fizal (15)
  80. M A Fouzer (21)
  81. A Atham Lebbe (57)
  82. H M Mohamed Samsudeen (40)
  83. M Samsudeen (33)
  84. M S M Akram (6)
  85. M S M Thalhan (8)
  86. A L Abdul Hassan (12)
  87. A L Abdul Samath (14)
  88. M Y Inamul Hassan (16)
  89. P M M Ibrahim (35)
  90. U L Mohamed Ibrahim (28)
  91. M Lebbei Thamby (48)
  92. A L Kachchi Mohamed (Teacher) (56)
  93. A S Abdul Muthaliff (18)
  94. M M Cassim Hajiyar (57)
  95. S M Sitheeque (16)
  96. A M Salahudeen Hajiyar (48)
  97. A M Kalanthar Lebbe Hajiyar (60)
  98. M A M Abdul Cader (40)
  99. M R Abdul Salam (23)
  100. M M Junaid (21)
  101. M A Mohamed Ameen
  102. A Farook (30)
  103. Y L M Hareez (13)
  104. M M Asanar (55)

People injured and died later are not included here.

Notes and References

  1. Xinhua, 147 Muslims Massacred by Tamil "Tigers" in Sri Lanka, Colombo, August 3, 1990
  2. http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=5E7F89A231872062802569A600601598 Sri Lanka: The Northeast: Human rights violations in a context of armed conflict
  3. Web site: Tamils Kill 110 Muslims at 2 Sri Lankan Mosques . The New York Times . 2 May 2019 . 5 August 1990.
  4. Book: Trawick, Margaret. Enemy Lines: Warfare, Childhood, and Play in Batticaloa. University of California Press. 1999. 70866875. 978-0-520-24515-0. 205.
  5. Book: Massacres of Tamils (1956-2008) . North-East Secretariat On Human Rights (NESOHR) . 2009 . 73 .
  6. Web site: THE EAST : LOOKING BACK . 26 October 2007 . 2001 . UTHR. UTHR.
  7. Web site: Human rights and The Issues of War and Peace . 26 October 2007 . 2001 . UTHR. UTHR.
  8. http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=5E7F89A231872062802569A600601598 Sri Lanka: The Northeast: Human rights violations in a context of armed conflict
  9. Web site: Welcome to UTHRJ: Report 7, Chapter 2. www.uthr.org. 2019-04-27.
  10. Web site: 2021-08-03 . Bloodshed Within Sacred Walls: In Memory Of That Bleak Day, August 3rd 1990 . 2022-11-16 . Colombo Telegraph . en-US.
  11. Web site: Administrator . 2017-08-03 . Re-visiting the Kattankudi Mosque Massacre by the LTTE 27 Years Ago. . 2022-11-16 . dbsjeyaraj.com . en-US.
  12. Book: Sriskandarajah, A. R.. Government and Politics in Sri Lanka: Biopolitics and Security. Taylor & Francis. 2017. 9781138290976. 82.
  13. Hodgin. Deanna. 22 October 1990. An Ethnic Inferno in Island Paradise. Insight on the News.
  14. Web site: 3 September 2015 . விடுதலைப்புலிகளை காட்டிக்கொடுத்தது உண்மை தானே? . YouTube . Athirvu . . 51:57-53:20 . Tamil.
  15. Web site: 10 September 1990 . Report No. 5: August: A Bloody Stalemate, Chapter 2 . University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna).
  16. News: Pain of 1990 Muslim 'massacre' lingers in Sri Lanka . BBC News . 12 August 2010.
  17. Web site: Administrator . 2022-10-29 . How and Why the LTTE Evicted Muslims from the Northern Province in "Black October 1990". . 2022-11-16 . dbsjeyaraj.com . en-US.