Casualties of the Sri Lankan Civil War

The Sri Lankan Civil war was very costly, killing and/ or disappearing over 100,000+ civilians and 50,000+ fighters from both sides of the conflict. The "Tamil Centre for Human Rights" recorded that from 1983 to 2004, 47,556 Tamil civilians were killed by the war.[1] Another organization called NESOHR published that from the beginning of the war to the 2002 ceasefire, 4000 to 5000 Tamil civilians were killed in large scale massacres, with a total civilian death of around 40,000.[2] Civilian casualties that occurred on 2009 is of major controversy, as there were no organizations to record the events during the final months of the war. The Sri Lankan government claimed that 9,000 people were killed in the final months of the war, but it did not differentiate between LTTE cadres and civilians.[3] The UN, based on credible witness evidence from aid agencies and civilians evacuated from the Safe Zone by sea, estimated that 6,500 civilians were killed and another 14,000 injured between mid-January 2009, when the Safe Zone was first declared, and mid-April 2009.[4][5] There are no official casualty figures after this period but estimates of the death toll for the final four months of the civil war (mid-January to mid-May) range from 15,000 to 75,000.[6][7][8] A US State Department report has suggested that the actual casualty figures were probably much higher than the UN's estimates and that significant numbers of casualties weren't recorded.[9] A former UN official has claimed that up to 40,000 civilians may have been killed in the final stages of the civil war.[10] Several human rights groups have even claimed that the death toll in the last months of the war could be 70,000. The Sri Lankan government has denied all claims of causing mass casualties against Tamils, arguing that it was "taking care not to harm civilians". Instead, it has blamed the LTTE for the high casualty numbers, stating that they used the civilians as human shields.[11] Both the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE have been accused by the U.N for war crimes during the last phase of the war.

While the majority of civilian deaths were that of the Tamil minority, the war also took many Sinhalese and Muslim lives. The LTTE were estimated to be responsible for 3,700 to 4,100 civilian deaths in over 200 separate attacks.[12] In response to the killings of Sinhalese and Muslims, LTTE leader Prabhakaran denied allegations of killing civilians, claiming to condemn such acts of violence; and claimed that LTTE had instead attacked armed home guards who were "death-squads let loose on Tamil civilians" and Sinhalese settlers who were "brought to the Tamil areas to forcibly occupy the land." However, this figure only accounts for those killed in open attacks. Various dissident sources allege that the number of Tamil dissenters and prisoners from rival armed groups clandestinely killed by the LTTE in detention or otherwise ranges from 8,000 - 20,000.[13]

Around 27,000+ LTTE cadres, 23,790+ Sri Lankan Army personnel, 1000+ Sri Lankan police, 1500 Indian soldiers were said to have died in the conflict. In 2008, the LTTE revealed that "22,390 fighters who have lost their lives in the armed struggle since 27 November 1982".[14] Minister of Defence Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said on an interview with state television that 23,790 Sri Lankan military personnel were killed since 1981 (it was not specified if police or other non armed forces personnel were included in this particular figure). The Uppsala Conflict Data Program, a university-based data collection program considered to be "one of the most accurate and well-used data-sources on global armed conflicts"[15] provides free data to the public and has divided Sri Lanka's conflicts into groups based on the actors involved. It collectively reported that between 1990 and 2009 between 59,193-75,601[16] people were killed in Sri Lanka during various three types of organized armed conflict: "State-based" conflicts, those that involved the Government of Sri Lanka against rebel groups(LTTE and the JVP), "Non-state" conflicts, those conflicts that did not involve the government of Sri Lanka (e.g. LTTE vs. LTTE-Karuna Faction, and LTTE vs. PLOTE), as well as "One-sided" violence, that involved deliberate attacks against civilians perpetrated by the Government of Sri Lanka.[17]

Summary

Minister of Defence Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said on an interview with state television that 23,790 Sri Lankan military personnel were killed since 1981 (it was not specified if police or other non armed forces personnel were included in this particular figure).

From the August 2006 recapture of the Mavil Aru reservoir until the formal declaration of the cessation of hostilities (on 18 May), 6261 Sri Lankan soldiers were killed and 29,551 were wounded.[18]

The Sri Lankan military estimates that up to 22,000 Tamil Tiger rebels were killed in the last three years of the conflict.[19]

The final five months of the civil war saw the heaviest civilian casualties. The UN, based on credible witness evidence from aid agencies and civilians evacuated from the Safe Zone by sea, estimated that 6,500 civilians were killed and another 14,000 injured between mid-January 2009, when the Safe Zone was first declared, and mid-April 2009.[4][5] There are no official casualty figures after this period but estimates of the death toll for the final four months of the civil war (mid-January to mid-May) range from 15,000 to 20,000.[6][7] A US State Department report has suggested that the actual casualty figures were probably much higher than the UN's estimates and that significant numbers of casualties weren't recorded.[9] A former UN official has claimed that up to 40,000 civilians may have been killed in the final stages of the civil war.[10]

The Tamil Center for Human Rights claims 12,104 women had been raped between 1983 and 2004 throughout the war.[20]

Casualties

War or Phase Date Deaths Total dead Wounded Total wounded Sources/
notes
combat other total combat other total
C SF TT C SF TT C SF TT C SF TT C SF TT C SF TT
Eelam War I 1983 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
1984
1985
1986
Eelam War I/Indian intervention 1987
1988
1989
Indian intervention
/Eelam War II
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
Eelam War II/Eelam War III 1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000 162 784 2,845 [21]
2001 89 412 1,321 [21]
2002 Ceasefire 2002 14 1 0 [21]
2003 31 2 26 [21]
2004 33 7 69 [21]
2005 153 90 87 [21]
2002 Ceasefire/Eelam War IV 2006 981 826 2,319 [21]
2007 525 499 3,345 [21]
2008 404 1,314 9,426 [21]
2009 11,108 1,312 2,941 [21]
Total ≈26 years 13,500 5,247 22,379 23,790 27,639 [21]
The above table is incomplete. Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.

Eelam War I

Year Civilians Security Force LTTE Total
1983400 - 6,5711353 - 100~3,113
1984872 -1,075
1985777 - 1,023
1986889 - 1,067
19873,714 - 5,017
Total6,652 - 14,753
Notes: higher estimates including disappeared peoples as presumed dead
Source:[20]
The above table is incomplete. Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.

Indian intervention

Year Civilians Security Force IPKF LTTE Total
19873,714 - 5,017
19882,929 - 4,182
19891,475 - 3,003
19905,798 - 15,179
Total13,916 - 27,381261,000+1,300
Notes: higher estimates including disappeared peoples as presumed dead
Source:[20]
The above table is incomplete. Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.

Eelam War II

Year Civilians Security Force LTTE Total
19905,798 - 15,179
19914,360 - 6,207
19923,769 - 5,549
19932,983 - 3,659
19942,470 - 3,006
19953,481 - 4,415
Total22,861 - 38,015
Notes: higher estimates including disappeared peoples as presumed dead
Source:[20]
The above table is incomplete. Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.

Eelam War III

Year Civilians Security Force LTTE Total
19953,481 - 4,415
19964,074 - 5,752
19974,056 - 5,519
19982,161 - 3,499
19991,661 - 1,838
2000*162 - 1,7077842,8453,791
200189 - 934121,3211,822
Total15,684 - 22,8231,1964,1665,613
Notes:*Data from 1 March 2000 higher estimates including disappeared peoples as presumed dead
Source:[20][22]
The above table is incomplete. Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.

Cease Fire Period

Year Civilians Security Force LTTE Total
200214 - 321015
200331 -5022659
200433 - 91769109
20051539087330
Total231 - 326100182513
Notes:Includes only Casualties between 2002-2005 most of which is the Cease Fire. higher estimates including disappeared peoples as presumed dead
Source:[20][22]
The above table is incomplete. Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.

Eelam War IV

Year Civilians Security Force LTTE Total
20069818262,3194,126
20075254993,3454,369
20084041,3149,42611,144
2009*9,257 - 140,000[23][24]1,3122,51513,084 - 143,827
Total11,167 - 141,9103,95417,42532,723 - 163,466
Notes:*Data till April 20, 2009
Source:[22][25][10][20][26]
The above table is incomplete. Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.

Overall

Year Civilians Security Force LTTE Total
Eelam War I
1983400 - 6,5711353 - 100~3,113
1984872 -1,075
1985777 - 1,023
1986889 - 1,067
19873,714 - 5,017
Indian intervention
19882,929 - 4,182
19891,475 - 3,003
Eelam War II
19905,798 - 15,179
19914,360 - 6,207
19923,769 - 5,549
19932,983 - 3,659
19942,470 - 3,006
Eelam War III
19953,481 - 4,415
19964,074 - 5,752
19974,056 - 5,519
19982,161 - 3,499
19991,661 - 1,838
2000162 - 1,7077842,8453,791
200189 - 934121,3211,822
Cease Fire Period
200214 - 321015
200331 -5022659
200433 - 91769109
20051539087330
Eelam War IV
20069818262,3194,126
20075254993,3454,369
20084041,3149,42611,144
2009*9,257 - 40,000
________________________
(? 71,173 ? - accounting for 75,000[26] figure)
1,312
________________________
(? 32,485 - 63,228 ? - accounting for 75,000[26] figure)
2,515
________________________
(Tamil Tigers didn't have (They had 30,000 fighters) enough fighters to account for the 75,000 figure.)
13,084 - 75,000[26]
Total55,608 - 125,614
________________________
(156,787 accounting for 75,000[26] figure in 2009)
5,247 - 67,163 (accounting for 75,000[26] figure in 2009)21,95338,849 - 152,814
________________________
(183,987 - 214,730 accounting for 75,000[26] figure in 2009)
Notes:*Data till May 11, 2009, **Data from March 1, 2000 higher estimates including disappeared peoples as presumed dead
Source:[22][25][10][26]

The above table is incomplete. Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.

References

  1. "Recorded figures of Arrests, Killings, Disappearances". www.tchr.net/50_year_arrest_kill.htm.
  2. "Genocide against the Tamil People" (PDF). www.ptsrilanka.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/massacres_pogroms_en.pdf.
  3. "Sri Lanka government publishes war death toll statistics".
  4. David Pallister & Gethin Chamberlain (24 April 2009). "Sri Lanka war toll near 6,500, UN report says". London: The Guardian, UK.
  5. "Sri Lanka rejects rebel ceasefire". BBC News. 27 April 2009.
  6. Chamberlain, Gethin (29 May 2009). "Sri Lanka death toll 'unacceptably high', says UN". London: The Guardian, UK. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
  7. "Slaughter in Sri Lanka". London: The Times, UK. 29 May 2009. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
  8. "Q&A: Post-war Sri Lanka".
  9. "Report to Congress on Incidents During the Recent Conflict in Sri Lanka" (PDF). Department of State, USA. 22 October 2009.
  10. Buncombe, Andrew (12 February 2010). "Up to 40,000 civilians 'died in Sri Lanka offensive'". The Independent. London. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  11. "Sri Lanka 'war crimes': Main allegations". www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-13158916.
  12. Hawdon, James; Ryan, John; Lucht, Marc (6 August 2014). The Causes and Consequences of Group Violence: From Bullies to Terrorists. ISBN 9780739188972.
  13. Hoole, Rajan (2001). "Tamils & The Political Culture Of Auto-Genocide –XII: A Monstrosity". Sri Lanka: The arrogance of power : myths, decadence & murder. ISBN 978-9559447047. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  14. "LTTE leader pays homage on Heroes Day". www.tamilnet.com/art.html?artid=27600&catid=71.
  15. Ford Institute for Human Security, Human Security Data, http://www.fordinstitute.pitt.edu/FordResources/Databases/tabid/466/Default.aspx,
  16. Uppsala Conflict Data Program, Low-high estimates for state based fighting between Government of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and JVP (low:61-high:61)Government of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and LTTE (Low:56,219-high:70,375), deliberate killings of civilians by Government of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) (low:368-high:1,666)and fighting between LTTE and LTTE-Karuna Faction (low:192-high:294) and LTTE and PLOTE (low:101-high:103), httpE (low:2,252://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=144&regionSelect=6-Central_and_Southern_Asia#, viewed 2013-05-03
  17. Uppsala Conflict Data Program, Sri Lanka Conflict Summary, http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=144&regionSelect=6-Central_and_Southern_Asia
  18. "Victory's price: 6,200 Sri Lankan troops". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 May 2009.
  19. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/eda17636-4733-11de-923e-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1
  20. "Recorded figures of Arrests, Killings, Disappearances, Rapes, Displacements and Injuries to Tamils in the North East, Colombo and other regions (1956-2004)". Tamil Centre for Human Rights - TCHR Centre Tamoul pour les Droits de l'Homme. Archived from the original on 10 October 2019.
  21. "Fatalities in Terrorist Violence in Sri Lanka since March 2000". Archived from the original on 3 June 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  22. South Asian Terrorism Portal Archived 2001-11-03 at the Wayback Machine.
  23. "Sri Lanka's dead and missing: the need for an accounting". Crisis Group. 27 February 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  24. Petrie, Charles (2012). "Report of the Secretary-General's Internal Review Panel on United Nations Action in Sri Lanka". United Nations Digital Library System.
  25. South Asian Terrorism Portal Archived 2009-06-03 at WebCite.
  26. United Nations Secretary General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka (UN PoE). 2011. “Report.” United Nations, 31 March. Available: http://www.un.org/News/dh/infocus/Sri_Lanka/POE_Report_Full.pdf page 40.
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