Kantalai LTTE blast

On this day, exactly 24 years ago in another dark episode of LTTE brutality, the Tiger terrorists massacred 24 innocent civilians setting off a landmine in Sittaru, Kantalai. The dead comprised eight Sinhalese and 16 Muslims. This was a period when the LTTE brutality was at its worst since the outfit was forced to carry out its campaign of mayhem outside the Northern theatre due to the presence of the IPKF in their stronghold.

The period was marked by raids on isolated hamlets in the North Central Province where entire villages were mowed down in bestial attacks. The LTTE also stepped up attacks on civilian targets in the capital city creating a fear psychosis among the population. Bomb explosions in public transport were frequent during this period.