| Gonagala massacre | |
|---|---|
| Location | Gonagala, Ampara, Sri Lanka |
| Date | 18 September 1999 |
Attack type | Massacre |
| Weapons | Knives, machetes, revolvers |
| Deaths | 54 |
| Perpetrators | LTTE |
No. of participants | ~75 |
The Gonagala Massacre was a massacre that occurred on 18 September 1999, in the small village of Gonagala, located in the Ampara District of Sri Lanka. According to reports, over 50 men, women and children were hacked to death in the middle of the night. The massacre is attributed to the LTTE, which is banned as a terrorist organisation by a number of countries including the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union.
The Gonagala massacre is one of many such attacks believed to have been carried out by the LTTE. However these murders gained notoriety because, unlike previous attacks, most of the LTTE cadres who took part in it were women. According to survivors, there was a significant presence of female cadres among the 75 LTTE cadres who took part in the killings.[1]