Escaping the pogroms. On July 23,1983, in retaliation to the violent acts and rapes committed by the Sinhalese army against the Tamil citizens, the newly created group, The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) killed 13 Sinhalese soldiers in an ambush. The episode was not a purely spontaneous act, but rather followed a series of fierce attacks by the Sinhalese, who, in the preceding days laid assault on the Tamil ghettos in the capital city, raiding and burning their houses and massacring their men, women, children and elderly. Everything under the watchful eyes of the army and the police, who did not only not intervene, but often participated in the carnage which lasted until the 30th of July, and stretched to the coast. The final tally was at least 3,000 tamil murdered and 500,000 forced to flee to the north.

 

On the run from the bombs. Today, 25 years later, people continue to flee to the north. Even in recent days, at least one thousand tamil civilians have escaped their villages in the district of Mannar, bombed by the army as it slowly advances north through rebel territory. Many escaped, some with their belongings loaded onto tractors, the settlements of Moonraampiddi, Paaliyaaru, Kaneasapuram, and Theavanpiddi, seeking refuge at Vannearikkulam and Akkaraayan in the district of Kilinochchi, yet to be affected by the bombings. Approximately 100 evacuees are being housed in schools and public offices, but the majority are forced to camp under tress on the side of the road.