23.05. – 24.05.1990 – Eastern University massacre

The Eastern University is in the Vantharumoolai village in Batticaloa. This is one of the 13 universities in the island. At any given year about 3000 students will be enrolled in this university. 
In 1990, following Sri Lankan military attacks on people, people from many regions of Batticaloa have taken refuge in the Eastern University.

On 23.05.1990, large number of Sri Lankan military arrived from the Saththurukondan military camp at the Eastern University. They arrested 58 young men tied their hands and legs and took them to the neighbouring villages. There they were all killed. The military came again on 24.05.1990 and arrested another 168 people who had taken refuge at the Eastern University. They were also killed in a similar manner to the earlier massacre.

226 people were killed in these days by the Sri Lankan military.

23.05.2008 – Murukandy claymore attack 

On 23 May 2008, a private van carrying nineteen members of an extended family including several children was travelling on the Murukandy-Akkarayan road in Kilinochchi when the van came under a claymore attack of the Sri Lanka military Deep Penetration Unit, near Murukandy. Sixteen civilians including five children were killed and the other three passengers were injured. The extended family in the van was returning from Mulankavil where they had visited a relative who was a patient at the Mulankavil hospital. All the five children killed in this attack are not only from one extended family but they also attended the same school in Parathipuram.

Available names: 

1. Periyasamy Vijayaratnam (40)
2. vijayaratnam Loganantha (39)
3. Vijayaratnam Sivakala (16)
4. Vijayaratnam Thanu (09)
5. Vijayaratnam Vithusan (07)
6. Panneerchelvam Azhagurani (42)
7. Ganeshan Kanaraj (34)
8. Santhirasegaran Keerthiga (10)
9. Samykannu Karuppaiya (40)
10. Karuppaiya Annalakshmi (40)
11. Azhagan Subramaniam (40)
12. Subramaniam Saraswathi (40)
13. Selvarasa Kalathevi (34)
14. Subramaniam Thanalakshmi (54)
15. Sunthirasekaram Karthika (10)
16. Rajendram Kalavalli (29)

Sources:
1990: "Massacres of Tamils 1956 - 2008", NESOHR (2010), pp. 72 - 73. 
2008: "Massacres of Tamils 1956 - 2008", NESOHR (2010), pp. 198 - 199.