Sri Lanka experienced a decades-long civil war, exacerbated by ethnic tensions between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils. Following independence from the United Kingdom, Sinhalese-dominated governments instituted discriminatory measures against Tamils, including the institution of Sinhala as the only national language and other actions that excluded Tamils from society. In response, a militant group known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), commonly known as the Tamil Tigers, was formed. Beginning in the 1970s, the LTTE began attacks on the state, beginning with assassinations. Violence intensified following the 1981 burning of a Tamil public library with high-ranking Sinhalese government officials present. The civil war broke out in earnest in 1983, when LTTE began higher-profile organized attacks. Both sides carried out attacks on civilians, often participating in retaliatory massacres which escalated the cycle of violence. After the collapse of peace talks in 1985, violence dramatically escalated over the next two years, including conventional military operations by the military, and the start of suicide attacks by the LTTE.
India, which has a large Tamil population of its own, had supported the LTTE through its Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) intelligence agency, and had dropped supplies into LTTE-controlled areas. In 1987, a peace accord between the two countries was signed, which resulted in the government’s acceptance of some LTTE demands, the presence of Indian peacekeepers, and the disarmament of some fighters. Violence against Sinhalese citizens took place, and the LTTE refused to disarm, resulting in further conflict with Indian forces. Following the assassination of the ex-Prime Minister of India in 1991, though to have been carried out by the LTTE, fighting broke out again as Indian troops departed. The LTTE occupied territory, which was blockaded and heavily bombed by the government. Both sides massacred civilians during this period, the LTTE expelled tens of thousands of Muslim civilians from the areas it controlled, and the group assassinated the leadership of a political party, including its presidential candidate. The new government began a military offensive and bombing campaign, which had some initial success at ending the LTTE’s territorial control. The insurgents responded with a bombing campaign of their own in civilian areas, with hundreds killed and thousands injured.
Close to a million Sri Lankans were displaced by the conflict, and the LTTE called and then ended a brief unilateral ceasefire in 2000 and 2001. A permanent ceasefire was negotiated by Norway and began in 2002, with negotiations between the two sides leading to intermittent progress. Despite persistent violence and the impact of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the ceasefire largely held until 2006, when the LTTE resumed hostilities, including several bombings of public transit. The resumption of fighting was deadly, and included a number of LTTE suicide bombings on both land and sea, along with further targeted massacres of civilians by both sides. Fighting continued until 2009, when the government won a military victory, but not before many civilians were caught in the midst of the fighting, with hundreds of thousands having gathered in a “no-fire zone”. Up to 100,000 civilians were killed over the decades of conflict, along with tens of thousands of combatants on both sides.
Peace attempts:
There were numerous attempts to find a peaceful solution to the civil war. Talks failed in 1985, and further peace attempts included international mediation. India helped negotiate a ceasefire and deployed peacekeeping troops, but that peace was short-lived as both sides in the conflict eventually opposed the situation. The longest ceasefire of the war was negotiated by Norway, and led to some brief tenuous peace. However, both sides frequently violated the agreement, and fighting resumed. The eventual end of the war came from a government military victory, not through peace negotiations. It followed a long and destructive campaign which saw the death of much of the LTTE’s leadership. There has been little accountability for war crimes committed during the conflict, especially those alleged to have been carried out by government forces. Since the end of the war, peace has generally held, although there have been occasional terrorist attacks, and widespread protests in 2022 overthrew the government amidst economic instability and widespread corruption.
