15 September 1990: The air force transports Muslim refugees to a camp in Puttalam, Sri Lanka, after the Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam evicted civilians at gunpoint from Jaffna peninsula. (Photograph by Robert Nickelsberg/ Liaison)
This October marked 30 years since tens of thousands of civilians, mostly Muslims, were evicted at gunpoint by the Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE) from Sri Lanka’s northern Jaffna peninsula.
The movement of civilians was so “unprecedented and dramatic” that around 75 000 Muslims became internally displaced people in a short period of time. Between 15 and 30 October 1990, Muslims were evicted in their entirety from Northern Province areas such as Chavakachcheri, Mannar, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya and Kilinochchi.