- 582 skeletons, including those of babies and children, have been uncovered at a mass grave in Chemmani, Sri Lanka, according to reports from The Telegraph and Al Jazeera.
- The remains are believed to be of civilians who disappeared during Sri Lanka's civil war, which lasted from 1983 to 2009.
- Over 160 belongings have been recovered from the site, including toys, milk bottles, and school bags.
- The excavation is the largest mass grave investigation at Chemmani, a site linked to allegations of Tamil civilian killings during the civil war.
- Authorities are yet to establish the identities of the victims or the cause of death.
- Chemmani has been suspected as a mass grave site since 1998, during the trial of a soldier for the rape and murder of a Tamil schoolgirl.
- An excavation in 1999 led to the discovery of 15 skeletons, 10 of which showed evidence of assault.
- The current excavation was prompted by the discovery of skeletal remains near a Hindu cremation ground in February 2025.
- The excavation resumed in April 2025 after the government allocated 21 million Sri Lankan rupees for the investigation.
Excavations at Chemmani, Sri Lanka, have revealed 582 skeletons, including infants and children, believed to be Tamil civilians killed during the civil war.1
Investigators have recovered over 160 personal items, such as toys and school bags, indicating the victims' identities as civilians.56
The site has been under scrutiny since 1998, with previous excavations yielding limited results due to funding issues.
Last year, 240 skeletal remains were found at the same site, which has been linked to allegations of mass killings by the Sri Lankan military.10
A soldier previously testified that between 300 and 400 Tamils were killed and buried at Chemmani.
Rights groups and families of the missing are demanding an international investigation, citing failures of past inquiries.
Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara defended the government's handling of the investigation, urging trust in domestic processes.
However, Yogarasa Kanagaranjini, president of the Association for Relatives of the Enforced Disappeared, rejected this, stating, “The Sri Lankan state will never deliver justice to us.”
“The excavation at Chemmani, near Jaffna, is the largest such discovery at the site, which has been suspected as a mass grave since 1998. Rights groups and relatives of the missing are demanding an international investigation, while the government insists on domestic mechanisms, with Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara urging trust in the current process.”
